Reopening America

From good news to questions and concerns. AstraZeneca released details from its U.S. trials that their vaccine is 79% effective against Covid-19. Then, hours later, federal officials said that they might have used outdated information and was missing a month’s worth of data. AstraZeneca said it would release more data soon, but the damage may have already been done, another misstep in the rollout. Karen Weintraub, health reporter at USA Today, joins us for the latest.

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Good news as we may soon have another vaccine available to us. AstraZeneca and its partner, Oxford University, have released information about their clinical trials in the U.S. and found their vaccine is safe and prevents 79% of symptomatic cases of Covid-19. It also reduced severe cases and hospitalizations by 100%. There has been recent concern of blood clots associated with the vaccine in Europe, but the trials showed that no cases of that in the U.S. Karen Weintraub, health reporter at USA Today, joins us for more.

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The pandemic has created a housing boom, but it’s different from the last time. Residential home prices are hitting highs that we haven’t seen since 2006. The big winners are people who already own homes because they can take advantage of lower mortgage rates, but on the other side, competition is stiff because of low supply. Nicole Friedman, reporter at the WSJ, joins us to talk about the crazy housing market.

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Moderna announced this week that they will begin testing their Covid vaccine on children aged 6 months to 11 years. This is the next piece of the puzzle to widen the mass vaccination campaign beyond adults. If all goes well, health officials believe that junior high and high school students could get their shots in the fall and elementary school students early next year. Peter Loftus, healthcare reporter at the WSJ, joins us for more.

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The White House is planning a wide-reaching campaign at getting those that are skeptical of the vaccines on board. It will be targeting young people, people of color, and conservatives. A recent focus group shows that to target some GOP voters, it will be best to keep politics out of it and provide as much information as possible so they can make informed decisions. Dan Diamond, national health reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for how to win over some vaccine skeptics.

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Which vaccine are you getting? For now, the experts are clear that the best vaccine to get is the first one that is available to you. But if you had your choice as supply goes up, which would you get? There are concerns about side effects, effectiveness, and immunity and those differences are small, but they do exist. Elizabeth Weise, national correspondent at USA Today, joins us for what to know about the available vaccines.

Next, the White House is planning a wide-reaching campaign at getting those that are skeptical of the vaccines on board. It will be targeting young people, people of color, and conservatives. A recent focus group shows that to target some GOP voters, it will be best to keep politics out of it and provide as much information as possible so they can make informed decisions. Dan Diamond, national health reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for how to win over some vaccine skeptics.

Finally, in a good sign of a recovering economy, the hotel industry is starting to regain some footing after its worst year ever. Americans are getting the itch to travel again and there are some good indicators for the leisure and hospitality industry. They are hiring again, getting advanced bookings, and seeing stock shares rise. Peter Grant, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for what we hope is a hotel rebound.

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There are a lot of questions about vaccine passports and when they might be available in the U.S. These could be paper or digital documents that show you are fully vaccinated or recently tested negative for coronavirus and may allow you to travel internationally more freely, or avoid local quarantines. Dr. John Torres, senior medical contributor to NBC News, joins us for how the U.S. is still far from laying any groundwork to get these vaccine passports implemented.

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As more states start to open up and vaccine distribution continues to grow, many are looking at who did what right during the pandemic. Two states that are often compared for how different an approach they each took are California and Florida. Gov. Newsom in CA if facing a recall effort for his handling of the pandemic, while Gov. Ron DeSantis is being praised in some conservative circles for his handling. California has a better death rate, but higher unemployment. Florida has more kids in school, but is facing a budget shortfall. Soumya Karlamangla, health reporter at the LA Times, joins us for who handled COVID-19 better.

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For many, this past year of the pandemic has been a lost year. And for our kids and teens, the disruption to school life has had major impacts on both academic life and also took on emotional toll. In Hobbs, New Mexico, the high school there close and sports were canceled, taking away activities that gave many meaning and provided social interaction. Kooper Davis was one such student who despite his best efforts, felt lost without his normal routine and outlets and the stress eventually overcame him. Alec MacGillis, reporter at ProPublica, joins us for what the pandemic has cost some teenagers.

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The late stage pandemic has been messing with our brains and no one remembers how to be normal. As more people get their vaccines and states ease restrictions, it’s raising hopes about getting back out there, but we are out of practice and stress and boredom has been a strain on our brains. Ellen Cushing, special projects editor at The Atlantic, joins us for more.

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