New Zealand is one of the countries that has been most successful in crushing the spread of the coronavirus. Now, the World Health Organization has asked former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark to co-chair an independent panel evaluating the critical steps taken early in the pandemic. She spoke to senior editor Jason Gale about how different countries approached the virus spread, and which approaches worked. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Nov 13, 2020•15 min•Season 5Ep. 126
Eight months into the pandemic, the coronavirus is on a rampage around the world. In Europe, a surge in cases has led to a new wave of lockdowns. The U.S. is entering its most dangerous period for the virus yet, and more than 10 million people have been infected. With Michelle Fay Cortez and Robert Langreth, we look back at how we got here, and ahead to what’s next for the outbreak. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 11, 2020•30 min•Season 5Ep. 125
Countries like the United Kingdom and France are locking down amid a spike in cases. They’re concerned that winter will only make things worse. But if Europe and America want to see an example of how well lockdowns work during colder months, they need only look at Melbourne, Australia. The country’s second-largest city went through two lockdowns – one of which happened during its winter. Remarkably, the city has reported no new cases since late October. But, Jason Gale reports, it has come at a ...
Nov 09, 2020•13 min•Season 5Ep. 124
Cornell University, in upstate New York, welcomed around 24,000 people back to campus this fall. The idea of students packed into dorms and mingling in classrooms made many people nervous. But while outbreaks have plagued colleges across the country, Cornell has managed to keep a lid on its Covid cases. In fact, the college’s test-positivity rate has been among the lowest of any college or university in the country doing large-scale testing. Reporter Emma Court looked into how the school has don...
Nov 06, 2020•14 min•Season 5Ep. 123
The holidays will not be business as usual this year. Instead of just figuring out what to cook for Thanksgiving dinner, we have to consider things like who we can invite to dinner safely, or whether we should even be hosting a meal at all. Reporter Kristen V. Brown finds expert answers to your questions around social distancing etiquette and the Holiday season. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 04, 2020•14 min•Season 5Ep. 122
Operation Warp Speed, The White House’s effort to fast-track a vaccine for covid-19, appears to be a conspicuous exception to the government’s otherwise disastrous management of the pandemic. The project has cleared bureaucratic hurdles and awarded more than $12 billion in vaccine-related contracts and has an overall budget of as much as $18 billion. Cynthia Koons reports on what Operation Warp Speed is doing behind the scenes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Nov 02, 2020•13 min•Season 5Ep. 121
The coronavirus is both a medical problem and a public-health problem – that’s baked into its biology. But the pandemic in the U.S. has been exacerbated by another challenge of our own making: a pervasive atmosphere of distrust. That atmosphere has let misinformation about the virus flourish. That misinformation is often amplified by the man with the country’s loudest megaphone, President Donald Trump. John Tozzi reports that the information crisis has made practicing medicine in a pandemic even...
Oct 30, 2020•13 min•Season 5Ep. 120
The U.S. government’s Covid-19 strategy has been to rely on developing vaccines and treatments, rather than emphase measures to limit the spread of the disease. That could delay the return to normal life for Americans. One report suggests that if the vaccine program has any hiccups, we could be living with the virus well into 2023. Health reporter Naomi Kresge reports on the cost of the government’s focus on developing drugs rather than changing behavior. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy ...
Oct 28, 2020•15 min•Season 5Ep. 119
Robinhood has become one of the Covid economy’s breakout successes. Americans marooned at home binge-watched Netflix shows, went shopping on Amazon Prime, and discovered day trading on their mobile phones. “Robinhood traders” became the shorthand explanation for the frenzy of often speculative retail investing in the pandemic lockdowns. But Annie Massa reports that Robinhood is now racing to prove it can manage a simple online trading platform and overcome a reputation for poor customer service....
Oct 26, 2020•15 min•Season 5Ep. 118
Black Americans have an increased vulnerability to Covid. Many explanations have been floated for that: Black people are more likely to have chronic illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure; many work in frontline jobs. But Cynthia Koons reports that scientists are increasingly certain that bad air plays a role in the coronavirus’s course. One ZIP code in Detroit illustrates the relationship between severe Covid cases and disproportionate pollution. See omnystudio.com/listener for priv...
Oct 23, 2020•14 min•Season 5Ep. 117
In the U.S., enthusiasm on the right is building for so-called herd immunity, as the public grows skeptical of coronavirus vaccines. These developments could dash hopes for containing Covid-19 in the months ahead. Proponents of herd immunity say exposing more people to the coronavirus will build protection broadly in the population. But experts say that will result in many more illnesses and deaths, and that vaccines are a safer route to herd immunity. Emma Court reports that the concept gained ...
Oct 21, 2020•14 min•Season 5Ep. 116
Millions of Europeans are facing tighter restrictions on their movements, with London, Paris, and Vienna enforcing stricter curbs. On Monday, the government of Wales announced a two-week “fire-break” lockdown designed to curb the spread of coronavirus. All non-essential retail outlets, including pubs and restaurants, will be closed from October 23rd to November 9th. Bloomberg reporter Catherine Bosley reports how Europe is hoping to control this new wave of coronavirus infections and whether ano...
Oct 19, 2020•15 min•Season 5Ep. 115
The Los Angeles Lakers took home the NBA championship this week. But the close of the season also marked a big victory for the league itself. The NBA played its finals in a unique environment that came to be known as the bubble. Players were frequently tested and social distancing was heavily enforced. And, the experiment worked. The NBA did not report a single positive coronavirus case from players or staff. Reporters Emma Court and Brandon Kochkodin describe how the league did it, and whether ...
Oct 16, 2020•14 min•Season 5Ep. 114
States are racing the clock to meet a Friday deadline from the Federal government to submit their plans to distribute a vaccine, once an effective one is ready. But Angelica Lavito reports that they’re putting together their strategies effectively blindfolded. State health officials have no clue which vaccine they will be distributing, nor when — or even if — a vaccine will be forthcoming. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Oct 14, 2020•14 min•Season 5Ep. 113
President Donald Trump returned to the campaign trail today a little over a week after testing positive for the coronavirus. His campaign hopes to reverse polling trends that show him falling further behind Democratic nominee Joe Biden. But as the president prepares to address supporters amid record U.S. deaths from the pandemic, the virus stays with him, both literally and figuratively. Michelle Fay Cortez reports that Trump’s handling of his own infection, and the cluster of infections at the ...
Oct 12, 2020•15 min•Season 5Ep. 112
Obesity is a known risk factor for severe complications of Covid-19. But scientists are learning that the link between extra pounds and severe Covid-19 may be even stronger than they thought. This week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that people who are merely overweight, not just the obese, may be at high risk of serious disease from the infection. Emma Court reports that the warning means about two-thirds of Americans could face higher risks. See omnystudio.com/listen...
Oct 09, 2020•14 min•Season 5Ep. 111
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been working for months to hammer out clear standards for vaccines seeking fast-track approval. Yesterday, The agency made a series of moves that all but assured that a shot won’t be widely available by Election Day. Senior editor for Health Care Drew Armstrong explains what that means for a fast vaccine, and for Trump’s re-election. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 07, 2020•13 min•Season 5Ep. 110
Dozens of companies are rushing to test and produce a Covid-19 vaccine as fast as possible. But a fringe group of DIY scientists made a bet that without regulatory hurdles, they could produce a vaccine themselves a whole lot faster. But as Kristen V. Brown reports, they learned that making a vaccine that works reliably--and can be proven safe--is incredibly difficult. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 05, 2020•14 min•Season 5Ep. 109
President Donald Trump’s diagnosis of coronavirus has raised questions about everything from the Supreme Court nominating process to the possibility of future presidential debates. And of course, the unprecedented possibility of a candidate being removed from the ticket this late in an election year. Drew Armstrong and Michelle Fay Cortez discuss what we know, and still don’t, about what happens next. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Oct 02, 2020•14 min•Season 5Ep. 108
New York City was hit hardest in the early months of the pandemic in the U.S. But after a strict lockdown, the city has enjoyed months of some of the lowest case rates in the country. But as schools reopen and the weather gets cooler, cases have begun to rise. The rate of positive cases exceeded 3 percent for the first time in months, and the mayor is considering shutting select schools and businesses in the ZIP codes driving the increase. Drew Armstrong describes the citry's efforts to recover ...
Sep 30, 2020•14 min•Season 5Ep. 107
The race for a COVID-19 vaccine entered a new phase recently. Four different vaccine candidates, developed by Moderna, Pfizer, BionTech and Johnson & Johnson, entered final-stage trials, with two others close behind. But we won’t know exactly how these four vaccines work for months. Robert Langreth explains what we can, and, more importantly, can’t know about a vaccine developed at breakneck speed. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Sep 28, 2020•14 min•Season 5Ep. 106
Six months into the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. is still hamstrung by testing efforts. There are not enough Covid-19 tests. But even when there are tests available, they aren’t always reliable. Kristen V. Brown reports on the free-for-all that U.S. coronavirus testing has become. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 25, 2020•14 min•Season 5Ep. 105
Scientists in Hong Kong reported last month what many had long suspected could happen. Someone who had recovered from Covid-19 caught the coronavirus again. Since then, about a dozen cases of re-infection have been reported worldwide. These cases demonstrate that a natural infection doesn’t lead to lasting protection, and that the pandemic could persist in the human population. Bloomberg News senior editor Jason Gale talked to health experts about what this means for our ability to stop the viru...
Sep 23, 2020•14 min•Season 5Ep. 104
The 2020 U.S. Census is about to draw to a close. Bureau field workers have until September thirtieth to avoid an undercount. They’ve been going door-to-door to confirm the number of people living in cities across the country. But Jordan Gass-Pooré reports that pandemic-scarred residents, fraudsters posing as census workers, and a lack of P.P.E. are standing in their way. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 21, 2020•11 min•Season 5Ep. 103
The U.S. will top 200,000 deaths from the novel coronavirus in the next few days. It’s a devastating milestone that comes only weeks before a presidential election where the virus response is front and center. The virus first struck New York City the worst, then blazed through populous states like Texas, Florida and California this summer after New York contained its infection. Emma Court explains what Covid-19 in the U.S. looks like now, eight months after it was first found on American soil, a...
Sep 18, 2020•15 min•Season 5Ep. 102
We’ve heard there are many things we can do to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Staying six feet from someone else, washing our hands, and wearing a mask. But there’s something else we can also do: Talk less. Speaking is a powerful generator of aerosols -- the fine particles emitted from our mouths that can harbor the SARS-CoV-2 virus and potentially linger for hours in poorly ventilated spaces. Turns out, shutting up can help shut those particles down. And as Bloomberg senior editor Jason ...
Sep 16, 2020•12 min•Season 5Ep. 101
Even after a vaccine is developed, the coronavirus is likely to remain with us for years. That means researchers must pursue efforts to find a cure for those who still fall sick. Viruses are tricky to fight, and prevention with vaccines has been far more successful than treatment with drugs. In fact, modern medicine has come up with a true cure for only one viral infection. For many serious infections, the best approaches are a cocktail of drugs that throw speed bumps in front of the infection. ...
Sep 14, 2020•14 min•Season 5Ep. 100
We’re learning constantly about SARS-CoV-2: what it does to the human body, how it spreads, and why it seems to transmit more readily in certain situations compared with others. Knowing how long the virus lives under different conditions is crucial for understanding the drivers of transmission and how to stop it. Jason Gale spoke with a scientist looking into some of these critical questions. And his answers don’t bode well for winter in the Northern Hemisphere. See omnystudio.com/listener for p...
Sep 11, 2020•11 min•Season 5Ep. 99
An unsubstantiated claim two weeks ago by President Donald Trump — that the “deep state” was slowing approval of a Covid-19 vaccine — has set off an effort by government officials and private industry to ensure the White House doesn’t interfere with a methodical, careful scientific process. Leaders of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration leaders are trying to insulate the agency’s vaccine reviewers from outside political pressure, and drug companies have vowed to make a safe vaccine. Drew Armst...
Sep 09, 2020•15 min•Season 5Ep. 98
How are educators and families navigating what we know, and don’t know, about the risks of restarting school during a pandemic? Today's special episode is a collaboration with Tradeoffs, a podcast about our costly, complicated and counter-intuitive health care system. Tradeoffs' Dan Gorenstein explores how scientists could ethically and safely infect people to speed up the fight against COVID-19. Subscribe to the Tradeoffs podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Or check them...
Sep 07, 2020•14 min•Season 5Ep. 97
