Prognosis: Misconception

Before COVID-19 started spreading around the U.S., the country was already attempting to deal with another health crisis: opioid dependency. Although opioid-treatment programs are considered essential public facilities and are allowed to stay open during statewide stay-at-home orders, experts are worried the coronavirus could exacerbate the opioid epidemic, possibly leading to more overdoses.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s a sliver of hope for people very ill with Covid-19. It’s a bold new treatment that involves taking the blood plasma of people who have recovered from the disease, and injecting it into people who are very sick. 

The secret is in the antibodies: a protein that is produced when someone’s immune system has fought the virus. But using antibodies to treat the sick is more complicated than just transferring them from one person to another. Jason Gale reports on what researchers are doing to sift through the many antibodies out there, and find the right ones to help people recover from being infected.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As data about the health outcomes of the new coronavirus come in, it's clear that black people are dying at disproportionate rates to their percentage of the population. But a new report shows it’s not just black Americans’ health that will suffer. The virus will likely have a devastating effect on their jobs and future earnings. Donald Moore talked to researchers about the economic and physical traps the virus is setting for the demographic.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Losing the ability to smell is one of the strangest clues that someone may have COVID-19. Experts around the world are still trying to understand why this symptom pops up, and what it means for patients. Some are calling on people who have lost their sense of smell to get tested and isolate themselves, even if they have no other symptoms. Jason Gale reports that the symptom could be an early warning sign--and screening for it could help contain the virus.6

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two of the worlds biggest companies, Apple and Amazon, rely on a supply chain that is spread all across the world, in many countries that have been hardest hit by the coronavirus. The tech giants employ hundreds of thousands of people so their fate, in many ways, is the fate of the global economy. Brad Stone, Bloomberg's head of global technology coverage, reports.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Historically, the U.S. Centers for Disease control and Prevention has been the agency in charge of predicting, and containing outbreaks of disease. But as Covid 19 ravaged the country, the agency took a backseat to the White House. Michelle Fay Cortez and John Tozzi discuss how the agency has handled the pandemic response, its early missteps, and how its role is likely to change in the future.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On a special episode of Prognosis Daily, we’re taking a close look at how the novel coronavirus lived before it entered humans and who it lived in. Bats. They’re almost certainly the source of this pandemic, but these flying mammals may also hold the clues to stopping the next one. Bloomberg senior editor Jason Gale explores how research into bats led to the discovery of what could be the precursor of the novel coronavirus. This vital research is also laying the groundwork for potential treatments.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scientists are desperate for a way to detect the novel coronavirus in communities as early as possible. So far, those efforts have focused on widespread testing of people. But a group of Dutch researchers may have discovered a way to tell where the virus is spreading, right beneath their feet. Jason Gale looks at the people hunting for early-warning signs in sewage.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The effects of the outbreak are putting unprecedented stress on thousands of people. But the difficulty of obtaining mental health services while under lockdown threatens to break a treatment network that was already strained to the breaking point. Cynthia Koons explains how companies are trying to meet that demand and how the crisis may change the way we receive mental health care.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently changed their guidelines on whether healthy people should wear masks, suggesting that people cover their faces to help slow transmission of the novel coronavirus.

The evolving view on face masks is just one more example of how quickly our understanding of the virus is changing. It also makes it hard for the public to know what information to take seriously. James Paton reports on what masks really do, why some still warn against their use, and how many people might be wearing them wrong.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.