Reopening America

Vaccinations rates are going up and people are ready to get out there and start shopping again, but how will consumer spending change? With the increased use of delivery apps and curbside pickup, grocery shopping might see the most sustained changes. Younger shoppers will also be a big force in apparel spending and more eager to interact with people outside of their households. Melissa Repko, retail reporter at CNBC, joins us for more.

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The conversation about vaccine passports continues as many private businesses and some states move ahead with developing methods to verify that people have been vaccinated or have negative covid tests, at the same time, some states are trying to ban them. Without federal leadership on the issue, people will most likely have to navigate a patchwork approach with many apps to choose from. Ashley Gold, tech and policy reporter at Axios, joins us for what might be next in this discussion.

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Retail pharmacies are a huge part of the administration’s plan to get the country vaccinated, but privacy watchdogs are raising red flags and want oversight into how these pharmacies might be using personal information to boost profits. In many cases, to sign up for your vaccine, you may need to hand over phone numbers, emails, and even more personal data as these companies are looking at how to convert people into long-term customers. Mohana Ravindranath, eHealth reporter at Politico joins us for more.

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The CDC is studying cases of Covid “vaccine breakthrough.” There have been hundreds of cases reported in Florida, Michigan, and Washington about people getting infected with coronavirus after getting fully vaccinated. Experts say that this is expected as no vaccine provides 100% coverage, but are also looking into whether these are cases of being exposed to high levels of the virus or variants. Rob Stein, health correspondent at NPR, joins us for more.

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The FDA and the CDC has paused the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine while it reviews data after finding six women came down with blood clots after receiving the vaccine, one of those women died. Still, this is extremely rare, these are the only 6 cases so far after almost 7 million shots have been administered. Peter Loftus, healthcare reporter at the WSJ, joins us for what we know about the J&J vaccine.

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Throughout the pandemic, nursing homes have been under more scrutiny as outbreaks were happening in these facilities that were understaffed and housed some of our most vulnerable citizens. In California, death and neglect was found inside a troubled nursing home chain called ReNew Health. Their CEO applied to operate nine new facilities and was denied because of all of the violations at her other facilities, but in a weird twist, she is still operating those very facilities because of licensing loopholes. Elly Yu, investigative reporter at KPCC and LAist.com, joins us to talk about the flawed system allowing this to happen.

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The post pandemic beauty boom is here as people are ready to emerge from the pandemic and be seen in person again. No more hiding behind zoom calls, the demand for beauty services is roaring back and it's not just the regular color and cut, people are signing up for all that they can. Businesses that offer cosmetic injectables and other skin care services are projecting their busiest summer yet and are even considering expanding locations. Amanda Mull, staff writer at the Atlantic, joins us for why America is about to go botox wild.

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There is a new shortage hitting restaurants because of the pandemic: Ketchup is getting hard to come by. More precisely, ketchup packets have been hit by supply chain problems and the market leader, Kraft Heinz, is having trouble keeping up with demand. In the meantime, restaurants are looking for alternatives and different ways to offer single serve portions. Heather Haddon, restaurants reporter at the WSJ, joins us for the shortage of everyone’s favorite condiment.

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Vaccine passports have become another contentious issue in the country as governors in Texas and Florida have signed orders banning them in their states with the argument that it will reduce individual freedom and harm patient privacy. Still, many private companies are planning to move forward with requiring proof of vaccination before using their services or going to see live sports. Jordan Davidson, staff writer at The Federalist, joins us for more on the fight against vaccine passports.

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In an effort to help people social distance and businesses to stay afloat, many state and local governments across the country relaxed regulations over cocktails-to-go, telehealth and other medical services, even document notarization and marijuana sales. Now that the country is starting to open back up in earnest, many want to keep these changes permanent because it adds more convenience and access to consumers, while others want to go back to pre-pandemic regulations saying if it wasn’t a necessity before the pandemic, why should it continue? Aaron Zitner, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for the fight to abandon regulations eased under Covid.

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