Reopening America

For all those parents with kids doing remote learning this year, pay attention to your children's grades. In some cases, the auto-grading software used to grade quizzes and schoolwork are getting it wrong. If a student's answers don't match exactly what's in the teacher's answer guide, it can be marked wrong, even if it's just a capitalization discrepancy. Julie Jargon, family and tech columnist at the WSJ, joins us for how these auto-grading systems are causing some headaches.

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It looks like people are rushing the toilet paper aisle again. We are seeing cases of coronavirus rise and with it, new lockdowns in certain states. The next logical thing to do is stock up on toilet paper obviously, and while we are seeing some empty shelves already, supply chain experts say that it won't be the same this time. Mark Hay, contributor to the Daily Beast, joins us for how stores are better prepared for toilet paper panic buying.

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An unfortunate update on many of the small businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program loans… about 300 of them have had to file for bankruptcy. The stimulus funds were not enough to keep these businesses open as the pandemic continues to hamper economic activity and a lack of additional help from Congress. In filings, the pandemic was the primary reason for declaring bankruptcy. Shane Shifflet, data reporter at the WSJ, joins us for how tough it is for these businesses and why the number of failed companies who received PPP loans is likely higher.

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Coronavirus is still running rampant across the country as the death count in the U.S. is now over 250,000. Thanksgiving is approaching and public health experts have urged caution over large gatherings. One more point of caution, more than 3 million people are estimated to be contagious with the coronavirus according to new models by epidemiologists at Columbia University. Joel Achenbach, science reporter at the Washington Post, joins us for why this estimate is so much higher than the official case count.

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Thinking of getting tested before Thanksgiving? Be careful if you’re planning the… everyone-has-gotten-tested approach to getting together with family at Thanksgiving. Getting a negative test doesn’t clear you from continuing to wear masks or social distance. While this approach can be used as a form of risk reduction, it is not a guarantee of safety from the virus. Quarantining can also help, but they day is quickly approaching. Christie Aschwanden, reporter at Wired, joins us for more.

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There is a lot of talk about a new round of lockdowns as the country sees increased cases of coronavirus. Some states have already imposed more restrictions on businesses as we wade into all too familiar territory, and the focus again turns to what Congress can do to help individuals and businesses with more stimulus to get through more closures. Courtenay Brown, markets reporter at Axios, joins us for what could be the economic fallout of lockdown 2.0.

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More great vaccine news this week as Moderna has said that their vaccine candidate appears to be 94.5% effective against COVID-19. Similar to the Pfizer candidate, Moderna’s vaccine also uses mRNA to target the spike protein of the virus. The other good news is that this one can be stored at standard refrigerator temperature for a month before being used, which will make it easier to ship and store. Karen Weintraub, health reporter at USA Today, joins us for more.

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Covid cases are surging in the U.S. and Europe and as a result we are seeing a new wave of lockdowns, but officials are struggling to identify where people are getting infected. Most people are being infected at home, but because contact tracing efforts are pretty much a failure right now, it is hard to trace where the infections are originating. Matthew Dalton, Paris correspondent at the WSJ, joins us for how it’s still difficult to pinpoint how everyone keeps getting sick.

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After some good news last week about Pfizer's vaccine candidate, everyone is looking toward the next steps, how to distribute it to the country. There's still plenty of time to work out the kinks, but many states are not ready to get it out, especially in rural areas. The Pfizer vaccine is unusually difficult to ship and store, it must be kept in super cold temperatures and has a short shelf life after being opened. The military will help ship the vaccine to states, but once they get delivered, it is up to the states to distribute. Issac Arnsdorf, reporter at ProPublica, joins us for the challenges states are facing in distributing the leading vaccine candidate.

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The FDA this week gave the emergency use authorization to Eli Lilly for their monoclonal antibody Covid treatment. It is similar to the treatment that President Trump received when he was sick and is aimed at keeping mild cases from turning more serious. The process of getting this treatment developed and approved was difficult in that the company also had to deal with the pandemic at the same time. They had to trim down their staff, work remotely in some cases, and the chief of the lab had to use a robot with an iPad attached to it so he can patrol the lab. Peter Loftus, health care reporter at the WSJ, joins us for how Eli Lilly got it done.

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