Reopening America

Many businesses thrived because of the shifts in spending during lockdowns. Now, looking forward to an economy that will hopefully be getting back to normal soon, these companies are facing questions about if they can keep up. Will people continue to order from DoorDash or go back to restaurants? Will the home improvement sector continue to grow or are people going on vacations? Paul Ziobro, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for more.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As vaccine distribution continues to ramp up, we are still hearing about people resistant to getting the shot. A recent poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation says that nearly one-third of Republicans would not get the vaccine. Reasons range anywhere from side effects, being developed too quickly, and distrust of the government. Dan Diamond, reporter at the Washington Post, joins us for the upcoming messaging effort to get more people on board.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The CDC has issued new guidelines for those who are fully vaccinated. The good news is that those people can now visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or social distancing. And if they are exposed to the virus, there’s no need to quarantine or get tested if they show no symptoms. Lev Facher, Washington correspondent at STAT News, joins us for the new rules for those that have gotten their vaccine.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Covid vaccines have been major breakthroughs in science and technology. They've produced a class of vaccines that researchers believe can protect people from other illnesses and outbreaks. From Pfizer and Moderna we have mRNA platforms and Johnson & Johnson used viral-vector technology. With new insights into the immune system, scientists are reprogramming the body to muster better defenses against viruses. Peter Loftus, health care reporter at the WSJ, joins us to talk about the promising new class of vaccines.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The investigation by a team of scientists from the WHO into the origins of Covid- 19 continues to cause tension between the U.S. and China. Now, an interim report that was set to be released has been scrapped and another team of scientists is calling for an all-new investigation with more transparency and access. Betsy McKay, senior writer at the WSJ, joins us for more problems for the WHO probe.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some estimates say that we could face a shortage of doctors in the next decade, but right now there are thousands of doctors that can't get a job. Medical schools are producing more graduates, but residency programs haven't kept up with matching doctors. Part of the problem is matching doctors who went to medical school abroad. Emma Goldberg, reporter at the NY Times, joins us for why many young doctors are in debt and unmatched with residency programs.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Researchers are looking to disease resistant patients in the hopes to expose weaknesses in Covid-19. Studies are being done to identify people who were heavily exposed to the virus, but never came down with it and also had no antibodies. Some of the answers lie in gene susceptibility, autoantibodies, and mutations. David Cox, freelance journalist at the BBC, joins us for how scientists are looking for Covid’s weak spots.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A team of scientists with the WHO are exploring the origins of Covid-19 and are focusing on two animal types for possible vectors where the illness jumped to humans. Investigators say that ferret badgers and rabbits, which were sold at the Wuhan market could have played a role in the spread. Drew Hinshaw, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for more on the WHO investigation into Covid-19.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pandemic numbers have been trending in the right direction and the vaccine rollout has been ramping up, but when can we all get back to normal? The next few months will look just as they have been, continued mask wearing and social distancing, but the summer could be the closest to normal that we have seen in a long time. Joe Pinkser, staff writer at The Atlantic, previews what the next few seasons might look like on our road to pre-pandemic normalcy.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More vaccines could be approved very soon. One from Johnson & Johnson and another from a company called Novavax. If authorized, this vaccine could be one of the most potent weapons against the pandemic. Early data shows that it could be the first shot to slow down asymptomatic spread and potentially provide longer-lasting protection. The other part of this story is the company itself, Novavax was a small biotech company that had tried to develop an approved vaccine with no success. Gregory Zuckerman, special writer at the WSJ, joins us for how Novavax turned its company around to make and effective Covid vaccine.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.