PODCAST-19: FiveThirtyEight on the Novel Coronavirus

But podcasts about them do. We're sad to report this is the final episode of PODCAST-19! It's been so rewarding making a show for you over the past year. In this episode, we discuss why we're closing up shop and why pandemics are so hard to beat.

The CDC wants to be certain, so it typically waits for a critical mass of scientific evidence before making declarative statements. That takes time. Yet the communication to the public in this pandemic seemed to be worse than normal, and resulted in a huge loss of public trust. Over the past month, we spoke to nearly a dozen scientists who all agreed the CDC could have done better. But the root causes of the CDC's shortcomings will be hard to fix.

We have no hard evidence to support the idea that the novel coronavirus was leaked from a lab, let alone a smoking gun to validate that hypothesis. But despite pushback on this story from many scientists and the media early on, it’s back in the news, and many are talking about the possibility of a lab leak. There may be some legitimate reasons to do more digging, but the debate has gotten heated. And when a conversation is centered around controversy, instead of science, we can lose sight of the bigger, more important picture.

There's a worldwide shortage of vaccines but plenty of factories standing by to make them. Why is there such a gap between what we need and what we can make? On this week's episode, we explore the surprisingly wild world of pharmaceutical patent law to understand how our system came to be and how it has shaped the pandemic.

Kids can't get a COVID-19 vaccination yet, but they're unlikely to develop serious complications from the disease. But they can still be vectors to spread COVID-19 to others who are likely to get very sick. On this week's episode, we look into how big of a risk unvaccinated kids pose to society, and what parents should keep in mind.

We've learned time and again that animals can give diseases to humans. We've seen this happen with coronaviruses, the flu, Ebola -- basically most major disease outbreaks in recent memory. But, of course, the reverse is true too: Humans can give viruses, including the novel coronavirus, to animals. FiveThirtyEight’s senior science writer Maggie Koerth wrote about this on the site earlier this week, and she joined PODCAST-19, FiveThirtyEight’s coronavirus podcast, to discuss her work further.

The United States has a surplus of COVID-19 vaccines — more than enough to vaccinate every adult. Poor countries, however, are still struggling to secure doses. Should those vaccines be sent to countries in need? If not, who will do the sending? And should rich countries profit off the exchange?

Federal health agencies asked states to pause in their use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine while U.S. officials investigate reports of an extremely rare blood-clotting syndrome that has developed in six people who have received the vaccine. Given how few people are sick, why did the U.S. recommend a pause? And what's it say about how the monitoring system is working?

The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine has been hailed as the world’s vaccine -- it’s inexpensive to produce and doesn’t need super-cold storage like the mRNA vaccines do. But its rollout has been messy. Will its missteps erode the public's (or the FDA's) trust? Maggie Koerth joins to discuss.

At some point, the U.S. is going to run out of people eager to get the vaccine, and we’ll need to work hard to convert those who are still hesitant or don’t know how to get it. It won’t be the first time we’ve done so. For months, community leaders have been working to overcome transportation challenges, language barriers, and digital divides. We speak to five of those leaders on this week's episode to hear how they convinced people to get the vaccine, and what that might mean for the months to come.

On this week's show, we discuss what the endgame of the pandemic will be. It likely isn't herd immunity. And if herd immunity isn't the goal, does that change how people should behave once they're vaccinated? We have a science-backed guide for how to evaluate what's risky and what's safe among the vaccinated.

Coronavirus mutations have complicated our path forward. But that doesn’t mean that our current plan out of the pandemic is futile.

Should you take a leftover vaccine? Should you pass up a vaccine if you think you don't need it as much as someone else does? We talk to bioethicists to get their answers on these questions and more.

Anna talks with Dr. Margaret Liu, one of the pioneers of gene-based vaccines, about vaccines that use mRNA to help us build immunity to COVID-19, including the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. How is this method different from vaccines in the past, and what does the mRNA do once it gets inside our bodies?

There are so many questions about a COVID-19 vaccine that we didn't know where to begin. So we began with you! We took to the mailbag to find answers on vaccine availability, immunity, and more.

On the first day of Christmas, PODCAST-19 gave to me ... an interview with Dr. Fauci. Dr. Anthony Fauci stops by the pod to talk about post-vaccine life, the new variant of the virus in the U.K. and which celebrity he'd like to see vaccinated.

Data has been such a valuable commodity during the pandemic. Unfortunately, at times data has been in short supply, because US government agencies haven’t always undertaken national data collection efforts. So what happens when individuals citizens try to collect data themselves? We talk to Professor Emily Oster, who developed a national COVID-19 School Response Dashboard, to find out what she’s learned about COVID in schools, the implications of volunteers developing their own public health trackers, and how she thinks the Biden administration will approach pandemic data collection.

It feels like a cure for this pandemic may be in sight. But for many people, injecting a brand-new scientific discovery into their body won't sit well. So, how are scientists making sure that a COVID-19 vaccine won’t cause more damage than the disease? How do regulators decide what an acceptable side effect is? And what would happen if someone did have a serious reaction to the COVID vaccine after it was released? This week, we’re devoting our whole show to vaccine safety.

Our producer, Sinduja Srinivasan, reports on long COVID, and how our health care system might cope with so many patients with ongoing symptoms.

This week, Pfizer announced that its coronavirus vaccine may be more than 90 percent effective. Anna and FiveThirtyEight's senior science writer, Maggie Koerth, discuss what we know (and don't know) about about the vaccine.

We talk with FiveThirtyEight’s Nathaniel Rakich and Maggie Koerth about how states are trying to make it safe to vote in person this Election Day, and what you should keep in mind as you go to the polls.

Joe Biden says he can fight the pandemic better than President Trump. But is his plan really that different? And does it address what experts say needs to be improved upon?

After testing positive for COVID-19 last week, President Trump was given the three experimental drugs: an antiviral, monoclonal antibodies, and a steroid. On this week’s episode of PODCAST-19, we discuss what happens when all three drugs are combined and why the average American can't expect to receive the same treatment.

Today we learned that President Trump tested positive for COVID-19. In this special crossover episode, the crew from the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast sat down with senior science writer and Podcast-19 contributor Maggie Koerth to talk about medical implications for the President, and the impact his diagnosis might have on the election.

As schools of all levels struggle to find a new way to educate students, universities, in particular, have had a difficult time navigating classes and campus life. On this week's show, we talk to a student navigating quarantined dorm life at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a scientist who helped design a different approach to testing for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

On this week’s episode of PODCAST-19, we discuss whether the FDA vaccine approval process can withstand political interference and how the agency can reassure the public that everything is working as it should.

We discuss the news that AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine trial has been paused because of a severe side effect for one participant, and how temporarily halting a trial can sometimes mean the process is working as intended.

The U.S. doesn't want to participate in a global effort to find and distribute a vaccine for COVID-19. Anna talks with FiveThirtyEight senior science writer Maggie Koerth about what that decision might mean for the country and the world.

On this week's episode, we explore what it means that people can get reinfected with COVID-19, and how we can still develop immunity to the disease. We also explore why the approach to masks in the Netherlands is so much more lax than in parts of the U.S., even though Holland has done a better job of suppressing COVID-19.

Russia is the first country in the world to approve a vaccine for COVID-19. To do so, they’ve reportedly sped through multiple steps in the testing process. Judy Twigg, a political scientist from Virginia Commonwealth University, talks about the state of medical research in Russia, and the political implications of this move. Also, we hear about the people who want to get COVID, for science! And we explore a new vaccine with promising early results.

We were no match for extreme weather this week, but we'll be back next week!

This week on Podcast-19, we talk about lab-grown antibodies, called monoclonal antibodies, that could temporarily protect people from COVID-19. How soon might they be available for the public? We also explore the long history of a COVID drug touted as a lifesaver, and learn about an inhalable treatment that might keep coronavirus patients off ventilators.

Who has access to COVID-19 testing in America? FiveThirtyEight and ABC News uncover some staggering disparities along racial lines. Also on today’s show, what are safe activities these days? Can you take a taxi? Eat outside at a restaurant? Senior Science Writer Maggie Koerth explores COVID’s murky middle. And finally, we check in on our oceans’ humpback whales. Yes, whales. On a coronavirus podcast.

Mask mandates have become a polarizing issue across the country, from Arizona to Georgia. So, where do we draw the line between public health and civil liberties? Also, we talk about air -- how can buildings ensure it's safe to breathe during the pandemic? And finally, some good vaccine news.

Anna Rothschild interviewed Dr. Anthony Fauci about how the U.S. is doing compared to other countries, how American partisanship has influenced our recovery efforts, and how a COVID-19 vaccine might influence the future of vaccine acceptance in our country.

How do you convey information about the coronavirus in a way that will compel people to change their behavior? As COVID cases rise in Florida, Texas, and Arizona, we look at how psychologists recommend we talk about public health.

Maggie Koerth and Kaleigh Rogers join the show to discuss the science of face masks, and whether we actually know anything now that we didn't when the pandemic started.

Creating a vaccine for COVID-19 is just the first step. Policy makers and manufacturers then need to make a lot of it. So, who will be first in line for the immunization?

A major medical journal reported that hydroxychloroquine harmed COVID patients, but a group of Twitter sleuths uncovered evidence that the paper wasn't what it seemed.

Black Americans are facing two crises: a pandemic that has an outsize impact on their community, and decades of police brutality that have sparked protests nationwide.

Plus, why have Americans retained their trust in science despite protests against its findings? And finally, the good news is poopy news this week.

One man's story helps show who is going uncounted in the COVID-19 death count. Elsewhere, there's some promising immunity news to share.

Without a vaccine, just how likely are we to reach herd immunity? Also, we hear some good news about COVID-19 antibodies -both in humans and...llamas?!

Experts say that to fight COVID-19 we need to track every infection. But is it too late? Also, we investigate why the disease is killing more men than women.

And why are some young people getting so sick? Find out on FiveThirtyEight's new COVID-19 podcast.

FiveThirtyEight's COVID-19 podcast is laser-focused on evidence. What do we know about the novel coronavirus, and what do we know we don't know? COVID-19 has pushed Americans into more uncertain territory than most have ever known. Our podcast helps listeners understand what they can be certain about, and what is still unknown. We investigate coronavirus mysteries, debate when it's safe to reopen the economy and keep track of the latest scientific developments on vaccines and treatments. We do it all with FiveThirtyEight's trademark blend of transparency and rigor.