Reopening America

How do you manage your workforce now that more people are returning to the office? Some workers are sad about leaving their remote work setup, others anxious about getting sick, and there are those that are burnt out. It’s important to give employees flexibility, help smooth out social interactions, and foster a focus on workflow. Rachel Feintzeig, work and life columnist at the WSJ, joins us for how to rally the post-pandemic workforce.

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Vaccine hesitancy continues to be an issue in the push to get everyone vaccinated and we have seen some smaller incentives such as free doughnuts and tickets to sporting events among other things, but Ohio has definitely stepped up its game. Gov. Mike DeWine is offering $1 million each to five adults by lottery if you get your shots. Separately, he is offering full-ride scholarships at a public state university to five vaccinated teenagers. Incentives have been shown to work in some cases, but this plan has gotten a mixed reaction so far. Joel Achenbach, science reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for more.

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As students spent more than a year at home in remote-learning settings, cheating has become more rampant and easier than ever. At North Carolina State University, more than 200 students were caught cheating. Texas A&M University had a 50% increase in cheating. Educators say a big part of this is the stress and pressure during the pandemic, and a lot of the cheating is done on homework help and homework auction sites where students can post their assignments and people bid on completing them for a price. Tawnell Hobbs, senior special writer at the WSJ, joins us for the latest surge in cheating.

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The CDC has updated its guidance saying fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks indoors or physically distance regardless of crowd size. Only a few instances remain where you need the mask. The reason for this announcement is that the vaccines have been shown to work in the real world, protect against variants, and vaccinated people are less likely to transmit the virus. Marissa Fernandez, health care reporter at Axios, joins us for the latest from the CDC.

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The economy is in comeback mode but businesses can’t find enough people to hire, despite millions of people that are still unemployed. Potential workers are holding back because of fears of getting sick, lack of child care, and some are still making more money with enhanced unemployment benefits than they made in their pre-pandemic jobs. Eric Morath, labor and economics reporter at the WSJ, joins us for why despite an economy ready to be on fire, some businesses can’t find employees.

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The FDA has approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for adolescents ages 12-15. They could be getting shots later this week, but as the pool of eligible recipients starts to skew younger, many parents may have questions about vaccinating their kids. The dosage is the same as adults and was shown to be 100% effective against symptomatic Covid. Karen Weintraub, health reporter at USA Today, joins us for what to know.

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The pandemic-era real estate market is crazy and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. This time has been a windfall for sellers entertaining multiple offers above asking price and headaches for buyers, where offering more money is no longer good enough, contingencies are being waived and other concessions are also being made. Aimee Picchi, reporter at CBS MoneyWatch, joins us for the ulta-tight pandemic housing market.

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Supply continues to outweigh demand for the coronavirus vaccine as some states are beginning to order fewer doses than what they are supposed to be allotted. The Biden administration has a goal of 70% of adults vaccinated by July 4, but only about 57% of adults have received at least one shot so far. Also in an effort to get people back in the workforce, some states are rolling back enhanced unemployment benefits. Some governors argue that the extra money is keeping people from going back to work. Ginger Gibson, deputy Washington digital editor at NBC News, joins us for this and the upcoming vote to remove Re. Liz Cheney from her Republican leadership post.

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Drug makers and labs are already working on the next-generation of Covid vaccines, and they could come in the form of a pill or nasal spray. Two oral formulations and seven nasal spray formulations are currently being worked on and tested. Researchers also hope to eventually work on a universal vaccine to provide protection against all types of coronaviruses. Gregory Zuckerman, special writer at the WSJ, joins us for the next generation of Covid-19 vaccines.

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Part of the next phase of the vaccine effort is targeting those that are still hesitant or refusing to get their shots. The White House and public health experts are playing close attention to recent focus groups of vaccine skeptics that changed their minds. Some heard info from doctors they trust, others heard stories from long haul survivors whose symptoms improved with the shot. Dan Diamond, national health reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for why some are changing their minds on getting vaccinated.

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