'Reopening America' Provides Quick, Daily Coronavirus Updates
By Diana Brown
December 23, 2020
Though we’re near the end of 2020, America is still trudging through the coronavirus pandemic; though vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna began rolling out this week, the average American is not expected to receive one until late spring or summer of 2021. And since it affects so much of our daily lives, the breaking news relating to the pandemic has never stopped since late February. It can be hard to keep up with all these headlines, so let Reopening America lend a hand. Hosted by Oscar Ramirez of the Daily Dive, this podcast provides quick, information-rich daily episodes about vaccines, reopening guidelines and updates, and how the pandemic is affecting the economy, mental health, education, and everything in between with the help of knowledgeable reporters and journalists. Here’s a handful of episodes to get you started.
Assessment tests of kids across the country are showing that on the whole, kids are keeping up with their reading skills, but may be falling short on math. Leslie Brody, education reporter at the Wall Street Journal, explains that parents aren’t as comfortable helping their kids with math because we teach it so differently now. She also points out that these results might be rosier than reality; many kids who took the test in 2019 were missing from this year’s assessments, which could mean they simply do not have access to the technology for remote learning or testing. Find out what’s happening with the kids on this episode.
The CDC recently issued new guidelines that the standard 14-day quarantine after exposure to coronavirus can be shortened to 10 days, or even 7 if certain criteria are met. Joel Achenback, science reporter at the Washington Post, shares that the CDC is trying to ease the burden on local health departments, who have reported that people are not complying with the 14-day rule. By shortening the quarantine period, they hope to increase compliance with the guidelines while still managing to contain 90-95% of infections. Get all the details and criteria on this episode.
Vaccines have been approved and are starting to be distributed, but there aren’t enough doses manufactured to get everyone a vaccine right away. So the federal vaccine advisory panel recommended that healthcare workers and nursing home residents receive the first vaccines. Betsy McKay, senior writer at the Wall Street Journal, explains how they came to that decision, and also dives into the new evidence indicating that there were cases of Covid-19 in the U.S. as early as December of 2019, according to blood donation samples. Does that throw the origin of the virus into question? Find out on this episode.
Samantha Schmidt, reporter for the Washington Post, recently published a story profiling men whose isolation and loneliness during lockdown has caused them to realize that they need deeper connections with their friends. Men usually have what sociologists call “shoulder-to-shoulder” relationships, where their time together is spent playing sports or video games. Without those options, men realized they didn’t have a way to connect with their male friends, though they desperately needed to. Samantha explains more and shares some of the personal stories she uncovered on this episode.
The U.K. was the first country to begin administering coronavirus vaccines when they approved the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use. Joanna Sugden, assistant editor at the Wall Street Journal in London, breaks down how they plan to distribute 20 million doses when only 50 hospitals across England have the sub-zero freezers needed to store the vaccine; she also shares details on how long the vaccine is viable after it thaws, why it’s trickier to administer than a flu shot, and the anti-vax sentiment in the U.K., which isn’t as strong as in the U.S. Find out more on this episode.
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