Today on AirTalk, we discuss the ethical arguments for how the coronavirus vaccine gets distributed. Also on the show, we learn more about what air travel is like; discuss outdoor dining; and more.
New York Attorney General Seeks To Dissolve The NRA
New York’s attorney general sued the National Rifle Association on Thursday, seeking to put the powerful gun advocacy organization out of business over allegations that high-ranking executives diverted millions of dollars for lavish personal trips, no-show contracts for associates and other questionable expenditures.
Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit, filed in state court in Manhattan after an 18-month investigation, highlighted misspending and self-dealing allegations that have roiled the NRA and its longtime leader, Wayne LaPierre, in recent years — from hair and makeup for his wife to a $17 million post-employment contract for himself.
Simultaneously, the Washington, D.C., attorney general sued the NRA Foundation, a charitable arm of the organization designed to provide programs for firearm safety, marksmanship and hunting safety, accusing it of diverting funds to the NRA to help pay for lavish spending by its top executives.
The troubles, which James said were long cloaked by loyal lieutenants and a pass-through payment arrangement with a vendor, started to come to light as the NRA’s deficit piled up and it struggled to find its footing after a spate of mass shootings eroded support for its pro-gun agenda. The organization went from a nearly $28 million surplus in 2015 to a $36 million deficit in 2018.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Carol Leonnig, investigative reporter for the Washington Post who’s been following the story
Adam Winkler, professor of law at UCLA, whose areas of focus include gun policy; author of many books, including “Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America” (W. W. Norton & Company, 2013)
Air Travel: What’s The Current View From The Sky?
The air travel industry has been rocked by the coronavirus pandemic as people have backed away from travel of all kinds. But according to the Wall Street Journal, some Europeans seem to be willing to take flights for cheap vacations.
Still, global air travel is recovering more slowly than expected and it will take until 2024 to return to pre-pandemic levels, the trade association for the airline industry said. The International Air Transport Association pushed back its prediction by one year due to the slow containment of the outbreak in the U.S. and in developing countries. Experts have said that air travel is not rebounding along with rising levels of business confidence in Europe, the U.S. and China. It’s unclear what travel will look like in the future and when we could see people traveling in large numbers again.
Today on AirTalk, we look at where things stand with air travel right now. Have you taken a flight recently? What was the experience like? If you haven’t traveled, when do you think you’d be willing to book a flight? When there’s a vaccine? When case numbers appear more optimistic? Tell us your thoughts by calling 866-893-5722.
With files from the Associated Press
Guest:
Hugo Martín, business writer for the Los Angeles Times, covering the travel industry; he tweets
Tables In The Streets And Distance On The Patios: What’s Your Take On Outdoor Dining So Far?
Outdoor dining has become critical for struggling Los Angeles restaurants during the coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Gavin Newsom nixed indoor dining for the second time at the beginning of July due to rising cases and hospitalizations throughout the state. That remains bad news for businesses trying to stay afloat.
Restaurants have continued to serve guests in outdoor spaces though. Some cities, L.A. included, have permitted restaurants to extend their outdoor seating to sidewalks, parking lots and even portions of the street, sometimes incredibly close to zooming traffic. Not all restaurants have the same opportunities for extending their space because, as the L.A. Times reports, they’re not all financially or spatially viable. Today on AirTalk, we want to hear your thoughts on outdoor dining. Have you visited and been served at a restaurant? Did you feel safe? Was it an enjoyable experience? Do you work at a restaurant? How is the model working out for you so far? Do you think the set up could be here for the long haul? Tell us your experience by calling 866-893-5722.
COVID-19 AMA: Quantity Over Quality Testing, Southeast LA Uptick, Meaning Of Immunity And More
In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Timothy Brewer from UCLA.
Topics today include:
White House task force foresees upswing in CA central valley cases
According to the L.A. Times, Southeast L.A. has become the epicenter of a COVID-19 uptick
LA County’s Public Health Director warns against giant house parties
Reported symptoms from COVID-19 seem vast and varied
Some people who experienced COVID-19 lost their sense of smell - when and will it return?
Some public health experts are now pushing for a quantity over quality approach to testing
The first supply of vaccines will likely be limited
What does it mean to have “immunity” and how does the meaning differ between the scientific community and a layperson’s understanding?
Guest:
Timothy Brewer, M.D., epidemiologist and professor of medicine at UCLA’s school of public health; has served on the advisory boards of the World Health Organization, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention
What Are The Ethical Considerations When Deciding Who Gets The Coronavirus Vaccine First?
Who gets to be first in line for a COVID-19 vaccine? U.S. health authorities hope by late next month to have some draft guidance on how to ration initial doses, but it’s a vexing decision.
“Not everybody’s going to like the answer,” Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, recently told one of the advisory groups the government asked to help decide. “There will be many people who feel that they should have been at the top of the list.”
Traditionally, first in line for a scarce vaccine are health workers and the people most vulnerable to the targeted infection. But Collins tossed new ideas into the mix: Consider geography and give priority to people where an outbreak is hitting hardest. And don’t forget volunteers in the final stage of vaccine testing who get dummy shots, the comparison group needed to tell if the real shots truly work. Huge studies this summer aim to prove which of several experimental COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc. began tests last week that eventually will include 30,000 volunteers each; in the next few months, equally large calls for volunteers will go out to test shots made by AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Novavax. And some vaccines made in China are in smaller late-stage studies in other countries. For all the promises of the U.S. stockpiling millions of doses, the hard truth: Even if a vaccine is declared safe and effective by year’s end, there won’t be enough for everyone who wants it right away -- especially as most potential vaccines require two doses. It’s a global dilemma. The World Health Organization is grappling with the same who-goes-first question as it tries to ensure vaccines are fairly distributed to poor countries -- decisions made even harder as wealthy nations corner the market for the first doses.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Aaron Kheriaty, M.D., professor of psychiatry and director of the Medical Ethics Program at the School of Medicine at UC Irvine; he tweets
Govind Persad, law professor at the University of Denver where he focuses on bioethics and health law; he tweets
‘Unconstitutional,’ ‘Autocratic,’ ‘Muzzles’: Anti-Mask Sentiment In The 1918 Flu Pandemic
Over one hundred years ago, in 1918, the United States faced a deadly flu pandemic that forced citywide shutdowns and mask ordinances across the country in order to slow the spread of disease.
But then as now, a vocal contingent of people resisted masks and refuted their protective properties, even in the face of evidence to the contrary. Mask resisters were labeled “slackers” by the Red Cross and were sometimes fined or even arrested for going out without a face covering. Slackers retaliated with flare, cutting holes in their masks to smoke cigars or even, in San Francisco, banding together to form the Anti-Mask League. Anti-maskers are still here a century on, and although they’ve become memes on social media (see: Karens), the implications of not wearing masks are serious— experts say that if everyone in California wore a mask, coronavirus infections would decrease dramatically. Today on AirTalk, we’re learning more about the social history of masks in the 1918 pandemic and the connections to today. Thoughts? Give us a call at 866-893-5722.
Guest:
J. Alexander Navarro, historian and Assistant Director of the Center for the History of Medicine at the University of Michigan; he tweets