Today on AirTalk, we update you on the latest COVID-19 news and answer your questions. Also on the show, we break down the limitations in brain scans; discuss the legal arguments behind the outdoor dining ban; and more.
COVID-19: Moderna’s Vaccine Under FDA Panel Microscope Today
In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Dean Blumberg, professor of medicine and chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UC Davis Children’s Hospital.
Today’s topics include:
FDA panel meets today to decide whether to recommend Moderna vaccine for emergency use
FDA says Pfizer coronavirus vaccine vials contain extra doses, expanding nation’s supply
The FDA
Today, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the first over-the-counter (OTC) fully at-home diagnostic test for #COVID19. The Ellume COVID-19 Home Test is authorized for people 2 years old and up, including those not showing symptoms. https://t.co/fdd2B7fYPE pic.twitter.com/eAHMKcZ4MV
— U.S. FDA (@US_FDA) December 15, 2020the first at-home rapid test for COVID-19 on Tuesday
California sets up field hospitals across the state
Some vaccine trial volunteers have reported tough side effects. What effects can people reasonably expect?
Are COVID cases spiking across age groups in California?
WSJ: Germany’s winning COVID strategy has stopped working
NYT Op-ed: “People thought COVID-19 was relatively harmless for younger adults. They were wrong”
Unions for teachers, nurses, grocery and hotel workers call for L.A. County shutdown in January
Guest:
Dean Blumberg, M.D., professor of medicine and chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UC Davis Children’s Hospital
What Are Your Funniest, Craziest Word Mispronunciations?
We all have a word (or maybe a few) we’ve been severely mispronouncing until someone finally shatters the glass revealing our life long faux pas.
It’s happened to the best of us. Chef Nigella Lawson butchered the word microwave when preparing a meal for a TV series. Smokey Robinson got Chanukah all kinds of wrong in a video recording greeting a fan. And actor Benedict Cumberbatch received flack for his mispronunciations of the word penguin when he narrated a nature film several years ago. There’s a good deal of words out there; we can’t be expected to get them all right. Today on AirTalk, we want to hear from you. Tell us your most mispronounced words! Join the conversation by calling 866-893-5722.
Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Gets Public Review, Moves Closer To Authorization
A second COVID-19 vaccine moved closer to joining the U.S. fight against the pandemic Thursday as government advisers convened for a public review of its safety and effectiveness.
It’s the next-to-last step for the vaccine developed by drugmaker Moderna and the National Institutes of Health. The panel of physicians and medical researchers is expected to endorse it, followed by the Food and Drug Administration’s OK within hours or days.
The action would provide a boost to the largest vaccination effort in U.S. history that kicked off this week. More shipments of the first green-lighted vaccine, developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, were going out Thursday, earmarked for health care workers and nursing home residents around the country.
A second vaccine is urgently needed as coronavirus infections, hospitalizations and deaths continue to rise in the U.S. ahead of holiday travel and gatherings that are expected to further fuel the pandemic.
The FDA’s Dr. Doran Fink opened the daylong meeting reiterating that the agency’s review would be “transparent, scientifically sound and data-driven.”
Moderna’s vaccine is largely following the same path as Pfizer-BioNTech’s, which relies on the same groundbreaking technology. Most traditional vaccines use dead or weakened virus, but both of the new vaccines use snippets of COVID-19’s genetic code to train the immune system to detect and fight the virus. Both require two doses, weeks apart.
The rapid development of two highly effective vaccines using the novel technique is one of the scientific triumphs in the race against coronavirus.
Today on AirTalk, we’re getting the latest vaccine news. Questions? Give us a call at 866-893-5722.
With files from the Associated Press
Guest:
Riley Griffin, Bloomberg News reporter covering healthcare, pharmaceuticals and COVID-19; she tweets
Brain Scan Technology May Have Significant Limitations. What Are Potential Solutions?
Brain scans offer a tantalizing glimpse into the mind’s mysteries, promising an almost X-ray-like vision into how we feel pain, interpret faces and wiggle fingers.
Studies of brain images have suggested that Republicans and Democrats have visibly different thinking, that overweight adults have stronger responses to pictures of food and that it’s possible to predict a sober person’s likelihood of relapse. But such buzzy findings are coming under growing scrutiny as scientists grapple with the fact that some brain scan research doesn’t seem to hold up. Such studies have been criticized for relying on too few subjects and for incorrectly analyzing or interpreting data. Researchers have also realized a person’s brain scan results can differ from day to day — even under identical conditions — casting a doubt on how to document consistent patterns. The research being re-examined relies on a technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI. With so many questions being raised, some researchers are acknowledging the scans’ limitations and working to overcome them or simply turning to other tests. Today on AirTalk, we discuss the challenges that exist with fMRI and what potential solutions could be considered to increase reliability. Do you have questions? Join the conversation by calling 866-893-5722.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Russ Poldrack, professor of psychology at Stanford University; he tweets
Emily Finn, assistant professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Dartmouth College; she tweets
Dean Erwin Chemerinsky On The Legal Arguments Behind The Outdoor Dining Ban & Shutdown Restrictions
In a recent op-ed in the LA Times, Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of Berkley Law, rebuked a Los Angeles Superior Court judge that issued a tentative ruling against LA County’s ban on outdoor dining.
“Government regulation of business is allowed as long as it is reasonable,” says Chemerinsky in his piece. “The government does not need to prove that an action is necessary, or even that it will work. Unless the government’s action is irrational or serves no conceivable legitimate purpose, it must be upheld.”
Additionally, a San Diego County Superior Court judge ruled yesterday that two strip clubs can stay open during the recent COVID-19 shutdown, ruling that authorities cannot enforce the restrictions on the strip clubs as well as “San Diego County businesses with restaurant service.” What would this mean for restaurants that might try to reopen during the shutdown?
Today on AirTalk, we’re joined by Erwin Chemerinsky to hear more about his position. Do you have legal questions regarding the outdoor dining ban? We want to hear from you! Give us a call at 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of Berkeley Law and formerly founding dean and professor of law at University of California, Irvine School of Law (2008-2017)