Prognosis: Misconception

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 death...

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 Bo...

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 playe...

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 omn...

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...

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 tha...

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/lis...

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 f...

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 n...

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 busine...

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 s...

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.

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 seni...

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/listen...

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...

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 spac...

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 infec...

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...

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 reviewe...

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...

The global economy could lose up to $22 trillion in 2020 alone due to Covid-19, according to Australian economist Warwick McKibbin. He predicts that successive waves of coronavirus infections will mean the world will continue to count the cost of the pandemic for years. McKibbin explains to Jason Gale that the pandemic will result in lasting changes to the way we work, live and interact. See omnys...

The future of the commercial real estate market has been under serious question. That’s thanks to the virus itself, a potential mass migration out of cities, and the new realities of working from home. For Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast, hosts Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal spoke with Mosaic Real Estate Partners Managing Partner Ethan Penner, who has been described as the father of Commercial Mort...

Recently, Sweden won praise from the World Health Organization for its unusual approach to battling Coronavirus. The Nordic nation imposed far fewer restrictions on movement than other countries, and instead relied on Swedes to act responsibly and embrace the guidelines laid out by the country’s health authorities. The strategy has been controversial. Sweden’s Covid-19 death rate is considerably h...

The coronavirus has swept through South Africa. But the country was already carrying a heavy burden of chronic and infectious diseases. Its healthcare system is fragile. Johannesburg-based reporter Janice Kew explains what happened when the country went into a strict lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19 from overwhelming its medical facilities. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

This weekend, Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, attracted criticism when he substantially overstated the benefits of an experimental Covid-19 therapy. At a press conference with Trump, Hahn said that a treatment using blood plasma from recovered patients could save 35 of every 100 people who would have died. Those high-profile remarks were incorrect, and they...