Reopening America

Childhood obesity is an ongoing problem that has only been made worse by the pandemic. The huge disruptions to the regular school year has impacted the amount of movement schools kids are engaging in as well as their diets, and it could have a lasting effect on their health. Kids tend to gain weight over summer when there is no school and for many, the pandemic has been similar to a 10-month summer break. Furthermore, some of the most nutritious meals many kids were eating were in school settings. Sam Bloch, staff writer at The Counter, joins us for more.

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CDC officials have said that it might be time to reopen schools. The most available evidence says that in-person instruction can be safely carried out if the proper precautions like mask wearing is followed and a community willing to impose restrictions on other settings like bars and indoor dining. Roni Rabin, health writer at the NY Times, joins us for why schools may be on the path to opening back up.

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It’s called vaccine tourism… and it’s how the super rich are beating you to the vaccine. In Florida, there were reports of rich Canadians and Venezuelans crashing the state to get their shots, but in London, there is an exclusive lifestyle and travel service called Knightsbridge Circle that has been organizing trips to Dubai and Abu Dhabi for their clients to get vaccinated. Oscar Rickett, contributor to Vice World News, joins us for how money can buy vaccines.

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California and other states have begun rolling back some of their strict coronavirus restrictions as new Covid strains are beginning to circulate. New cases and hospitalizations are declining causing governors like Gavin Newsom to let some businesses open at limited capacity again. Some say politics may be at play since he is facing a recall effort, but Newsom says that has no merit. Businesses and restaurants are happy at the chance to reopen, but some urge caution that it could be too soon. Emma Court, health reporter at Bloomberg News, joins us for more.

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How have people finances held up during the pandemic? In many cases, not well, but many households have been saving and economists hope that these savings and pent-up demand will push economic growth this year when businesses open back up. 36% of people have saved their stimulus checks, 35% paid down debt, and 29% spent it right away. Harriet Torry, economics reporter at the WSJ, joins us for more.

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The new strains of coronavirus have been very concerning when it comes to vaccine efficacy, but Moderna, maker of one of the approved vaccines in the U.S. has said that their shots are effective against South African and U.K. variants. Still, they are exploring making a booster shot and a new version of the vaccine to combat the South African strain, in which scientists see sharp declines of antibody levels in people. Peter Loftus, healthcare reporter at the WSJ, joins us for Moderna's vaccine plans.

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The troubling pattern emerging among the new coronavirus variants is that they are all more transmissible and they are becoming the dominant strains in their respective areas. Mutations in the virus are making the spike protein stickier, allowing people to become infected more easily. This leads many scientists to believe that the changing virus will require updated annual vaccines similar to the flu shot. Sarah Zhang, staff writer at the Atlantic, joins us for more on these new covid variants.

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A study of nursing home residents found that a monoclonal antibody treatment made by Eli Lilly can cut the risk of Covid-19 by up to 80%. It is important to catch people at the early stages of infection and is meant for those that are high-risk patients. One of the difficulties in administering these drugs however is that it’s delivered via an hour-long infusion. Karen Weintruab, health reporter at USA Today, joins us for more.

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President Joe Biden has a singular focus in his first few days in office to get the coronavirus pandemic under control. He has signed ten executive orders aimed at accelerating the rollout of vaccines by using the Defense Production Act, supporting state and local governments to help them in their responses, mandating mask wearing, and restoring faith in the government. Will Feuer, health and science reporter at CNBC, joins us for the Biden Covid plan.

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The pandemic may have fundamentally changed access to entertainment and possibly for the better. The live events industry has suffered under health restrictions and forced many events to go virtual. While live-streamed events can't replace the experience or financial benefits, it has opened events to wider audiences and will probably be part of the mix going forward. Emily Yahr, entertainment reporter at the Washington Post, joins us for how virtual events may be here to stay.

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