Reopening America

Positive drug tests have hit a two-decade high mostly driven by an increase of positive marijuana tests. A couple of things are at play here. First, attitudes about marijuana are changing as more states move to legalize recreational use. Secondly, due to labor shortages, many businesses loosened drug screening policies to open themselves up to a wider pool of applicants. Will Feuer, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for more.

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Many people who left their jobs during the Great Resignation are having regrets. About 20% of those that left didn’t think it was a good idea after all and many aren’t even planning on staying very long in their new positions. Reasons why they aren’t happy range from the new role being different from what they expected or even missing the culture of their old job. Paul Davidson, economics and jobs reporter at USA Today, joins us for more.

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The FDA has authorized a second Covid booster shot for people 50 and older and those 12 and older that have weakened immune systems. The decision was mostly based on data from Israel that shows it could be lifesaving for those over 60 but has only marginal benefits for younger people. Carolyn Johnson, science reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for the latest and also how the FDA will soon meet to discuss the long-term booster strategy for the rest of the population.

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A new supply chain issue could be on its way soon to one of the busiest ports in the world. New contract negotiations for more than 22,000 union dockworkers will begin soon and if history is any indicator, we are in for some disruptions. These workers have been working around the clock for most of the pandemic and some points of resistance could be more automation at the ports. Peter Goodman, global economics correspondent at the NY Times, joins us for this possible supply chain risk.

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The return to in-person learning for students this year has yielded some improvement in test scores in reading and math, but still not to pre-pandemic levels. Young students still seem to be struggling, especially those that were learning to read in the last two years. Many teachers were alarmed to see how behind some were academically and emotionally when returning. Sara Randazzo, education reporter at the WSJ, joins us for how test scores are rising.

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For many people that have experienced long Covid, they have had to deal with not only prolonged symptoms, but the hassle of trying to fight for disability benefits. We still understand very little about long Covid and how severe the effects are can be difficult to measure. Insurers demand that there be evidence that a person cannot work, and some medical tests may not clearly show an impairment leading to denials of benefits. Christopher Rowland, business of health reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for the fight for disability payments.

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According to a review of patient data, people who had Covid-19 were at a greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes within a year, than those who avoided getting sick. Looking at the records of over 180,000 VA patients researchers calculated that those that got Covid were 46% more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes for the first time or prescribed medication to control blood sugar. Lenny Bernstein, health and medicine reporter at The Washington post, joins us for more.

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As we progress through the pandemic and we see some positive trends with fewer cases and hospitalizations, the concern is always what could be coming next. A new strain circulating in Europe and quickly spreading here may not lead to a new wave, but vaccine makers have asked for approval for a 4th round of booster shots and the question is, where does that end? We could be in store for boosters every year until we can develop a universal coronavirus vaccine. Robert Langreth, science and health reporter at Bloomberg News, joins us for the future of booster shots.

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One of the biggest debates of the pandemic was how to proceed with school as the virus disrupted everything. Everything from learning remotely or in person to wearing masks was a point of contention, but at the Lewis-Palmer school district in Colorado, they chose to keep kids in class and made masks optional. What resulted were students who flourished and boosted some of their test scores when other districts in the state lagged behind. Perry Stein, education reporter at The Washington post, joins us for how this district tried to proceed as normal.

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The Covid pill made by Merck has been prescribed heavily despite some concerns. Regulators and doctors think that the Merck pill should be one of the last options in treating Covid because concerns that it could cause birth defects and cause more variants to form. But with Pfizer’s pill in limited supply, many doctors have turned to molnupiravir. Jared Hopkins, pharma reporter at the WSJ, joins us for what to know about the Merck Covid antiviral.

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