Reopening America

More good news on treatments for COVID-19. Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, has requested the emergency use authorization of its antibody- based treatment for people with mild to moderate symptoms of coronavirus. This treatment is similar to the one that President Trump received and they could have 100,000 doses ready this month and one million by the end of the year. Peter Loftus, health care reporter at the WSJ, joins us for more.

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How did the coronavirus infiltrate the White House? Many experts say that the reliance on coronavirus rapid response tests without other mitigation strategies like wearing masks and social distancing might have been the problem. The White House was using Abbott Laboratories’ ID Now tests like metal detectors, despite them delivering false negatives 9% of the time. Sarah Toy, health and science reporter at the WSJ, joins us for more. 

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The FDA has put out guidelines on the protocols to follow before a vaccine can get emergency use authorization. They want an expert panel to review any vaccine and also want two months of safety data. This will definitely put any vaccine out of reach before the election. The White House has also agreed to these guidelines. Angelica LaVito, health reporter at Bloomberg News joins us for how a vaccine will be properly vetted.

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The economic recovery of the U.S. has been uneven as some workers and companies are showing signs of coming out fine, while others face an uncertain path. The pandemic has been kind to those that can work from home and the businesses that cater to them, but lower wage workers and those tied to tourism and public gatherings have suffered. Theo Francis, business reporter at the WSJ, joins us for the K-shaped recovery.

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As some college campuses have been exploding with COVID-19 cases, Colby College in Maine has been keeping the numbers down with mandatory mask wearing, students willing to follow the rules, and one of the nation’s most rigorous testing programs. The college has poured $10 million into its response plan and tests students twice a week. Chris Quintana, national education reporter for USA Today, joins us for how they are keeping the numbers low.

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President Trump has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and is being treated at Walter Reed Military Hospital. Trump's doctors say that he is improving and could be discharged soon, but there have been conflicting messages. The course of treatment he is receiving does not point to mild symptoms of coronavirus. Also, while we do not know the exact point at which the president contracted the virus, it seems that last week's Rose Garden ceremony for Judge Amy Coney Barrett could be the superspreading event. Others in the president's circle who also attended the event have also tested positive. Ginger Gibson, deputy Washington digital editor at NBC News, joins us for more.

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Some coronavirus vaccine trial participants have spoken out about their experience so far and are reporting fever, body aches, and exhaustion, but say that the side effects did not last more than a day and in the end were worth it. Participants in Moderna and Pfizer’s trials said that they felt getting more side effects after the second dose. Berkley Lovelace, health care reporter at CNBC joins us for how participants felts after getting their shots. 

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The NFL has had its first COVID-19 team outbreak as ten members of the Tennessee Titans have had positive tests after their last game with the Minnesota Vikings. In response to this the NFL has postponed the upcoming Week 4 game against the Steelers. The Titans coach has said that some of the people infected are experiencing flu-like symptoms. Matt Bonesteel, sports reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for how the NFL will respond to this outbreak.

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A look into how YouTube is fighting misinformation and conspiracy theories. Crucial to its success and also a major source of misinformation spread was its recommendation system. Early on, if you watched a video about the earth being flat, you would then be recommended tons of similar videos. To stop these sort of videos from getting more exposure, they began to tweak the algorithms and teach AI how to identify and down-rank conspiracy videos. Still, as we saw with conspiracy videos about the coronavirus pandemic, there is much work to be done. Clive Thompson, contributor to Wired, joins us for more.

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The CDC, one of the most admired public health agencies in the country, has seen its credibility erode over the course of the pandemic. There were some stumbles early on in the roll out of test kits to the changing guidance on aerosols and how the coronavirus spreads, the agency has also had to deal with political interference. Lena Sun, health reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for how 2020 has been a disaster for the CDC.

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