Prognosis: Misconception

The race for a COVID-19 vaccine entered a new phase recently. Four different vaccine candidates, developed by Moderna, Pfizer, BionTech and Johnson & Johnson, entered final-stage trials, with two others close behind. But we won’t know exactly how these four vaccines work for months. Robert Langreth explains what we can, and, more importantly, can’t know about a vaccine developed at breakneck speed.

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Six months into the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. is still hamstrung by testing efforts. There are not enough Covid-19 tests. But even when there are tests available, they aren’t always reliable. Kristen V. Brown reports on the free-for-all that U.S. coronavirus testing has become.

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Scientists in Hong Kong reported last month what many had long suspected could happen. Someone who had recovered from Covid-19 caught the coronavirus again. Since then, about a dozen cases of re-infection have been reported worldwide. These cases demonstrate that a natural infection doesn’t lead to lasting protection, and that the pandemic could persist in the human population. Bloomberg News senior editor Jason Gale talked to health experts about what this means for our ability to stop the virus and to produce an effective immunization.

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The 2020 U.S. Census is about to draw to a close. Bureau field workers have until September thirtieth to avoid an undercount. They’ve been going door-to-door to confirm the number of people living in cities across the country. But Jordan Gass-Pooré reports that pandemic-scarred residents, fraudsters posing as census workers, and a lack of P.P.E. are standing in their way.

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The U.S. will top 200,000 deaths from the novel coronavirus in the next few days. It’s a devastating milestone that comes only weeks before a presidential election where the virus response is front and center. The virus first struck New York City the worst, then blazed through populous states like Texas, Florida and California this summer after New York contained its infection. Emma Court explains what Covid-19 in the U.S. looks like now, eight months after it was first found on American soil, and what we have learned about it since.

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We’ve heard there are many things we can do to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Staying six feet from someone else, washing our hands, and wearing a mask. But there’s something else we can also do: Talk less. Speaking is a powerful generator of aerosols -- the fine particles emitted from our mouths that can harbor the SARS-CoV-2 virus and potentially linger for hours in poorly ventilated spaces. Turns out, shutting up can help shut those particles down. And as Bloomberg senior editor Jason Gale found out, if you must speak, it’s safer if you do it softly.

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Even after a vaccine is developed, the coronavirus is likely to remain with us for years. That means researchers must pursue efforts to find a cure for those who still fall sick. 

Viruses are tricky to fight, and prevention with vaccines has been far more successful than treatment with drugs. In fact, modern medicine has come up with a true cure for only one viral infection. For many serious infections, the best approaches are a cocktail of drugs that throw speed bumps in front of the infection. Michelle Fay Cortez reports that the best solution for fighting viruses is often letting our own bodies attack them.

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We’re learning constantly about SARS-CoV-2: what it does to the human body, how it spreads, and why it seems to transmit more readily in certain situations compared with others. Knowing how long the virus lives under different conditions is crucial for understanding the drivers of transmission and how to stop it. Jason Gale spoke with a scientist looking into some of these critical questions. And his answers don’t bode well for winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

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An unsubstantiated claim two weeks ago by President Donald Trump — that the “deep state” was slowing approval of a Covid-19 vaccine — has set off an effort by government officials and private industry to ensure the White House doesn’t interfere with a methodical, careful scientific process.

Leaders of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration leaders are trying to insulate the agency’s vaccine reviewers from outside political pressure, and drug companies have vowed to make a safe vaccine. Drew Armstrong reports on how government agencies and companies are doing to reassure the public a vaccine will be safe.

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How are educators and families navigating what we know, and don’t know, about the risks of restarting school during a pandemic?  

Today's special episode is a collaboration with Tradeoffs, a podcast about our costly, complicated and counter-intuitive health care system. Tradeoffs' Dan Gorenstein explores how scientists could ethically and safely infect people to speed up the fight against COVID-19.

Subscribe to the Tradeoffs podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Or check them out at tradeoffs.org.

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