Today on Airtalk, we break down the latest COVID-19 headlines. Also on the show, we analyze the state's proposed overhaul of K-12 math; check in with local airports and airlines on how they're faring; and more.
COVID-19: Public Health Experts Urge Teens To Get Vaccinated, Plus Some Countries Turn Focus To Boosters. Is It Too Soon?
In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Dean Blumberg from UC Davis.
Today’s topics include:
Two-thirds of CA adults have been at least partially vaccinated
The urban-rural vaccine divide could be growing
Public health experts urging teens to get vaccinated, but some don’t think they need it
More issues with CA MyTurn app as state failed to recruit enough volunteers
What is the COVAX program?
Some countries shift focus to booster vaccines. Is it too soon?
A new coronavirus detected in Malaysia is coming from dogs
Guest:
Dean Blumberg, M.D., professor of medicine and chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UC Davis Children’s Hospital
California’s Proposed Plan To Overhaul K-12 Math Has Set Off The State’s Newest Education Controversy
Yesterday, California’s Board of Education commission began reviewing public comments in response to a controversial new proposal to overhaul the state’s math framework.
If implemented, the proposed framework would recommend that districts keep students in the same math classes through their sophomore year, instead of allowing some students to take advanced math courses in middle school. Proponents of the plan say it would make mathematics education more equitable and discourage the notion that some students are innately talented, and instead reward students for growth. But opponents swiftly responded to the proposal, saying that the proposal would have the converse effect on students in the classroom. The proposal comes just after the University of California said it would no longer consider SAT and ACT scores in admissions— the result of a lawsuit from low income students of colors and students with disabilities.
Today on AirTalk, we are learning more about the California Department of Education’s proposal. What are your thought? Leave them below or give us a call at 866-893-5722.
Guests:
Howard Blume, reporter covering education for The Los Angeles Times; he tweets
Jo Boaler, professor of mathematics education at Stanford University and co-writer of the framework, she tweets
Svetlana Jitomirskaya, distinguished professor of mathematics at UC Irvine
With Travel Demand Beginning To Soar, We Check In With Local Airports and Airlines
As the country opens up and more people get vaccinated, many people await for the last pillar of normalcy to fully return: travel and leisure. According to reporting from Axios, bookings for last month were up 11% from April 2019.
But as the travel sector returns, it faces the same worker shortages that many other industries currently bear. Last year, the country's travel sector lost $1.1 trillion, with jobs in the sector dropping by 5.6 million. While the industry is slowly recouping its losses, 17% of those jobs have yet to be filled according to data from the U.S. Travel Association.
Today on AirTalk, we check in with local Southern California airports and an international airlines to see how they fared during the pandemic and what they foresee in the future of the travel industry.
Guests:
Frank Miller, executive director of the Hollywood Burbank Airport
Atif Elkadi, deputy chief executive officer for Ontario International Airport; he tweets
Becca Doten, deputy executive director for public and government affairs for Los Angeles World Airports; she tweets
John Jackson, Korean Air’s vice president of marketing for the Americas
BMI Is A Widely Used Health Standard, But Is It A Good One?
When you go to the hospital, it’s standard procedure for the doctor to calculate your BMI - your weight in kilograms divided by your height in meters squared.
Body Mass Index is widely used as a health metric, both by medical professionals and insurance companies to calculate risk or a patient’s eligibility for certain procedures, but it’s long been a controversial standard. While some researchers say that BMI might be useful to assess the overall health of a population, it’s much less useful as an individual indicator of health and is a bad predictor of metabolic health. It can be problematic if a doctor is using BMI, an inaccurate measure of body fat, as a proxy for whether a patient is healthy or not.
There is also debate about its usefulness for different races and ethnicities, especially since the standard is based on a white European male. In fact, the WHO released a different BMI interpretation guide for people of Asian descent.
What is the history of BMI and its pros and cons? Are there ways that BMI can be used differently? Or should it be nixed altogether?
Guests:
Jamy Ard, M.D., clinical researcher and professor of epidemiology and prevention at Wake Forest School of Medicine; co-director of the Wake Forest Baptist Health Weight Management Center; he tweets
Sabrina Strings, associate professor of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine, where her research interests include the sociology of medicine; author of “Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia” (NYU Press, 2019); she tweets