PODCAST-19: FiveThirtyEight on the Novel Coronavirus Podcast
1) What The Heck Is Going On With AstraZeneca's Vaccine?
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. Wi...Show More
2) Pandemics Don't Really End
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 ...Show More
3) How The CDC's Blindspots Complicated The Fight Against COVID-19
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 pandemi...Show More
4) The Lab Leak Commotion
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 scienti...Show More
5) Who Should Decide Who Gets To Make COVID-19 Vaccines?
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 sur...Show More
6) How To Make Sure Your Kid Isn't A Superspreader
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...Show More
7) You Might Have Given The Coronavirus To Your Cat
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 cou...Show More
8) What A Donated Vaccine Can Do
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 countr...Show More
9) The Johnson & Johnson Pause Shows The System Is Working
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 ...Show More
10) How To Overcome Vaccine Hesitancy
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 t...Show More