window.__IS_SSR__=true
window.__INITIAL_STATE__={
"attachmentsReducer": {
"audio_0": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_0",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background0.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_1": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_1",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background1.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_2": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_2",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background2.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_3": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_3",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background3.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_4": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_4",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background4.jpg"
}
}
},
"placeholder": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "placeholder",
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"height": 533,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-768x512.jpg",
"width": 768,
"height": 512,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"large": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"height": 533,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"height": 576,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"small": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1920x1280.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1280,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 32,
"height": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 50,
"height": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 64,
"height": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 96,
"height": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 128,
"height": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1.jpg",
"width": 2000,
"height": 1333
}
}
},
"science_1960004": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "science_1960004",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1960004",
"found": true
},
"parent": 1960000,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/03/RS42258_GettyImages-1212056096-qut-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/03/RS42258_GettyImages-1212056096-qut-160x103.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 103
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/03/RS42258_GettyImages-1212056096-qut-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/03/RS42258_GettyImages-1212056096-qut.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1235
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/03/RS42258_GettyImages-1212056096-qut-1020x656.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 656
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/03/RS42258_GettyImages-1212056096-qut-1920x1235.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1235
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/03/RS42258_GettyImages-1212056096-qut-800x515.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 515
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/03/RS42258_GettyImages-1212056096-qut-768x494.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 494
}
},
"publishDate": 1585078580,
"modified": 1592595792,
"caption": "Medical personnel secure a sample from a person at a drive-thru COVID-19 testing station at a Kaiser Permanente facility on March 12, 2020, in San Francisco, California.",
"description": null,
"title": "Kaiser Permanente Opens Drive-Thru Coronavirus Testing Station In San Francisco",
"credit": "Justin Sullivan/Getty Images",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"science_1966172": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "science_1966172",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1966172",
"found": true
},
"parent": 1966149,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/children-daycare-coronavirus-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/children-daycare-coronavirus-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 107
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/children-daycare-coronavirus-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/children-daycare-coronavirus.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1280
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/children-daycare-coronavirus-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 680
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/children-daycare-coronavirus-1920x1280.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1280
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/children-daycare-coronavirus-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 533
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/children-daycare-coronavirus-768x512.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 512
}
},
"publishDate": 1592521840,
"modified": 1592524428,
"caption": "A family walks wearing masks in downtown Los Angeles on March 22, 2020. ",
"description": null,
"title": "US-HEALTH-VIRUS",
"credit": "Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"science_1966052": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "science_1966052",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1966052",
"found": true
},
"parent": 1966047,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/RS43658_GettyImages-1211629926-qut-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/RS43658_GettyImages-1211629926-qut-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 107
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/RS43658_GettyImages-1211629926-qut-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/RS43658_GettyImages-1211629926-qut.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1280
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/RS43658_GettyImages-1211629926-qut-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 680
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/RS43658_GettyImages-1211629926-qut-1920x1280.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1280
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/RS43658_GettyImages-1211629926-qut-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 533
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/RS43658_GettyImages-1211629926-qut-768x512.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 512
}
},
"publishDate": 1592339987,
"modified": 1592340238,
"caption": "Huntington Beach in Orange County is virtually empty on May 02, 2020 after a judge rejected a request to block a state order to close local beaches during the coronavirus pandemic. ",
"description": null,
"title": "US-HEALTH-VIRUS-BEACH",
"credit": "APU GOMES/AFP via Getty Images",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"science_1965995": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "science_1965995",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1965995",
"found": true
},
"parent": 1965993,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/GettyImages-1210313555-1600x900-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/GettyImages-1210313555-1600x900-160x90.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 90
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/GettyImages-1210313555-1600x900-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/GettyImages-1210313555-1600x900.jpg",
"width": 1600,
"height": 900
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/GettyImages-1210313555-1600x900-1020x574.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 574
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/GettyImages-1210313555-1600x900-800x450.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 450
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/GettyImages-1210313555-1600x900-768x432.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 432
}
},
"publishDate": 1592239503,
"modified": 1592262112,
"caption": "Mortician and funeral director Bryan Clayton inspects names on a row of cardboard caskets, one reading \"COVID+,\" at Maryland Cremation Services in Millersville, Md.\n",
"description": null,
"title": "GettyImages-1210313555-1600x900",
"credit": "Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"science_1972037": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "science_1972037",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1972037",
"found": true
},
"parent": 0,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/01/KQEDScience_Charts_210103_FI-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/01/KQEDScience_Charts_210103_FI-160x90.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 90
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/01/KQEDScience_Charts_210103_FI-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/01/KQEDScience_Charts_210103_FI.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1080
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/01/KQEDScience_Charts_210103_FI-1020x574.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 574
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/01/KQEDScience_Charts_210103_FI-1536x864.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 864
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/01/KQEDScience_Charts_210103_FI-800x450.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 450
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/01/KQEDScience_Charts_210103_FI-768x432.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 432
}
},
"publishDate": 1609782893,
"modified": 1609782893,
"caption": null,
"description": null,
"title": "KQEDScience_Charts_210103_FI",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"altTag": null,
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"science_1965822": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "science_1965822",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1965822",
"found": true
},
"parent": 1965816,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Collage_pink-1600x900-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Collage_pink-1600x900-160x90.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 90
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Collage_pink-1600x900-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Collage_pink-1600x900.jpg",
"width": 1600,
"height": 900
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Collage_pink-1600x900-1020x574.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 574
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Collage_pink-1600x900-800x450.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 450
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Collage_pink-1600x900-768x432.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 432
}
},
"publishDate": 1591896243,
"modified": 1591906145,
"caption": "Ashley Otah, left, in Dallas; Cecil Hannibal in Los Angeles; Zane Keyes in Montclair, N.J.; and Visaysha Harris in Grayson, Ga.\n",
"description": null,
"title": "Collage_pink-1600x900",
"credit": "Illustration: STAT; photos courtesy of Ashley Otah, Cecil Hannibal, Gabrielle Glaser and Visaysha Harris",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"science_1965745": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "science_1965745",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1965745",
"found": true
},
"parent": 1965744,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/large-tanks-bayview_o7a4642_custom-9599af93f291dcb4d798877c7bcf1afa716817d1-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/large-tanks-bayview_o7a4642_custom-9599af93f291dcb4d798877c7bcf1afa716817d1-160x214.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 214
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/large-tanks-bayview_o7a4642_custom-9599af93f291dcb4d798877c7bcf1afa716817d1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/large-tanks-bayview_o7a4642_custom-9599af93f291dcb4d798877c7bcf1afa716817d1.jpg",
"width": 1998,
"height": 2670
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/large-tanks-bayview_o7a4642_custom-9599af93f291dcb4d798877c7bcf1afa716817d1-1020x1363.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1363
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/large-tanks-bayview_o7a4642_custom-9599af93f291dcb4d798877c7bcf1afa716817d1-1920x2566.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 2566
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/large-tanks-bayview_o7a4642_custom-9599af93f291dcb4d798877c7bcf1afa716817d1-800x1069.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1069
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/large-tanks-bayview_o7a4642_custom-9599af93f291dcb4d798877c7bcf1afa716817d1-768x1026.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1026
}
},
"publishDate": 1591808509,
"modified": 1591808585,
"caption": "Cell culture operators prepare a 2000-liter single-use bioreactor to produce proteins used to make vaccines.",
"description": null,
"title": "large-tanks-bayview_o7a4642_custom-9599af93f291dcb4d798877c7bcf1afa716817d1",
"credit": "Philip Taciak/Emergent Biosolutions",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"science_1965739": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "science_1965739",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1965739",
"found": true
},
"parent": 1965688,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/RS43621_GettyImages-1234343110-qut-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/RS43621_GettyImages-1234343110-qut-160x103.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 103
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/RS43621_GettyImages-1234343110-qut-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/RS43621_GettyImages-1234343110-qut.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1241
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/RS43621_GettyImages-1234343110-qut-1020x659.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 659
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/RS43621_GettyImages-1234343110-qut-1920x1241.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1241
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/RS43621_GettyImages-1234343110-qut-800x517.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 517
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/RS43621_GettyImages-1234343110-qut-768x496.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 496
}
},
"publishDate": 1591760794,
"modified": 1591761075,
"caption": "Oakland demonstrators run through tear gas that was deployed by police officers on May 29 during a protest sparked by the death of George Floyd while in police custody. ",
"description": "Oakland demonstrators run through tear gas that was deployed by police officers on May 29 during a protest sparked by the death of George Floyd while in police custody. ",
"title": "Activists In Oakland Protest Police Brutality In Death Of George Floyd",
"credit": "Justin Sullivan/Getty Images",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"science_1965654": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "science_1965654",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1965654",
"found": true
},
"parent": 1965648,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/GettyImages-1206569115-1600x900-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/GettyImages-1206569115-1600x900-160x90.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 90
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/GettyImages-1206569115-1600x900-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/GettyImages-1206569115-1600x900.jpg",
"width": 1600,
"height": 900
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/GettyImages-1206569115-1600x900-1020x574.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 574
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/GettyImages-1206569115-1600x900-800x450.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 450
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/GettyImages-1206569115-1600x900-768x432.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 432
}
},
"publishDate": 1591721226,
"modified": 1591735689,
"caption": "Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead on the COVID-19 pandemic.\n",
"description": null,
"title": "GettyImages-1206569115-1600x900",
"credit": "Fabrice Coffrini/Getty",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"science_1965328": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "science_1965328",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1965328",
"found": true
},
"parent": 1965321,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2029/06/Coronavirus-Bay-Area-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2029/06/Coronavirus-Bay-Area-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 107
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2029/06/Coronavirus-Bay-Area-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2029/06/Coronavirus-Bay-Area.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1280
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2029/06/Coronavirus-Bay-Area-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 680
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2029/06/Coronavirus-Bay-Area-1920x1280.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1280
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2029/06/Coronavirus-Bay-Area-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 533
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2029/06/Coronavirus-Bay-Area-768x512.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 512
}
},
"publishDate": 1591057135,
"modified": 1591128541,
"caption": "Pedestrians walk in San Francisco's Mission District on April 23, 2020.",
"description": null,
"title": "Pedestrians walk in San Francisco's Mission District on April 23, 2020.",
"credit": "Beth LaBerge/KQED",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"science_1963817": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "science_1963817",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1963817",
"found": true
},
"parent": 1963794,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/05/LHH_710331_1-001-160x76.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 76
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/05/LHH_710331_1-001-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/05/LHH_710331_1-001.jpg",
"width": 1024,
"height": 487
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/05/LHH_710331_1-001-1020x485.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 485
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/05/LHH_710331_1-001-800x380.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 380
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/05/LHH_710331_1-001-768x365.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 365
}
},
"publishDate": 1588957792,
"modified": 1591044856,
"caption": "San Francisco's Laguna Honda Hospital is managing a COVID-19 outbreak and recovering from a multiyear resident abuse scandal.",
"description": "A COVID-19 outbreak at Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, San Francisco, offers lessons in infection control.",
"title": "A COVID-19 outbreak at Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, San Francisco, offers lessons in infection control.",
"credit": "(David Wakely, courtesy of the San Francisco Joint Information Center) ",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"science_1965270": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "science_1965270",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1965270",
"found": true
},
"parent": 1965269,
"imgSizes": {
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/SJM_covidoutcomes_052620_01-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/SJM_covidoutcomes_052620_01-160x120.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 120
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/SJM_covidoutcomes_052620_01-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/SJM_covidoutcomes_052620_01.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1155
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/SJM_covidoutcomes_052620_01-1020x767.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 767
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/SJM_covidoutcomes_052620_01-800x602.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 602
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/SJM_covidoutcomes_052620_01-768x578.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 578
}
},
"publishDate": 1591032181,
"modified": 1591046746,
"caption": "Coronavirus testing is offered in the parking lot of Antioch Baptist Church in San Jose, California, on May 20, 2020.",
"description": null,
"title": "SJM-L-PENNROOTS-0521",
"credit": "Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
}
},
"audioPlayerReducer": {
"postId": "stream_live",
"isPaused": true,
"isPlaying": false,
"pfsActive": false,
"pledgeModalIsOpen": true,
"playerDrawerIsOpen": false,
"liveAudioPlayStartedAt": 0,
"liveAudioPlayContext": ""
},
"authorsReducer": {
"byline_science_1966047": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_science_1966047",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_science_1966047",
"name": "Barbara Feder Ostrov \u003cbr />CalMatters\u003cbr>",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_science_1965993": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_science_1965993",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_science_1965993",
"name": "Sharon Begley \u003cbr />STAT",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_science_1965816": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_science_1965816",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_science_1965816",
"name": "Gabrielle Glaser \u003cbr />STAT\u003cbr>",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_science_1965744": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_science_1965744",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_science_1965744",
"name": "Joe Palca \u003cbr />NPR\u003cbr>",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_science_1965688": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_science_1965688",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_science_1965688",
"name": "\u003cstrong>John Upton\u003cbr>Climate Central\u003c/strong>",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_science_1965648": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_science_1965648",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_science_1965648",
"name": "Andrew Joseph\u003cbr />STAT\u003cbr>",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_science_1965269": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_science_1965269",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_science_1965269",
"name": "Ana Ibarra \u003cbr />CalMatters\u003cbr>",
"isLoading": false
},
"jbrooks": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "80",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "80",
"found": true
},
"name": "Jon Brooks",
"firstName": "Jon",
"lastName": "Brooks",
"slug": "jbrooks",
"email": "jbrooks@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": true,
"staff_mastheads": [
"science"
],
"title": "Digital Editor",
"bio": "Jon Brooks is a former Digital Editor for KQED Science. He is the former editor of KQED’s daily news blog, News Fix. In 2014, he won a California Journalism Award for his coverage of ride services like Uber and Lyft and the taxi industry. A veteran blogger, he previously worked for Yahoo! in various news writing and editing roles. Jon is also a playwright whose work has been produced in San Francisco, New York, Italy, and around the U.S. He has written about film for his own blog and studied film at Boston University.",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/98887f7ed1c876ed414d4c915e969584?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": "jbrooksfoy",
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "arts",
"roles": [
"Contributor",
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"author"
]
},
{
"site": "futureofyou",
"roles": [
"administrator"
]
},
{
"site": "mindshift",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "stateofhealth",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "science",
"roles": [
"administrator"
]
},
{
"site": "quest",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "Jon Brooks | KQED",
"description": "Digital Editor",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/98887f7ed1c876ed414d4c915e969584?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/98887f7ed1c876ed414d4c915e969584?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/jbrooks"
},
"lisapickoffwhite-2": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "199",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "199",
"found": true
},
"name": "Lisa Pickoff-White",
"firstName": "Lisa",
"lastName": "Pickoff-White",
"slug": "lisapickoffwhite-2",
"email": "lpickoffwhite@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": false,
"staff_mastheads": [
"news"
],
"title": "Data Journalist, Senior Producer",
"bio": "Lisa Pickoff-White is KQED's data reporter. Lisa specializes in simplifying complex topics and bringing them to life through compelling visuals, including photography and data visualizations. She previously has worked at the Center for Investigative Reporting and other national outlets. Her work has been honored with awards from the Online News Association, Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists and SXSW Interactive. \u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5513c5f3967df792aa65bee2501e84d6?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": "pickoffwhite",
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "arts",
"roles": []
},
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"administrator"
]
},
{
"site": "about",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "stateofhealth",
"roles": [
"administrator"
]
},
{
"site": "science",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "quest",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "forum",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "Lisa Pickoff-White | KQED",
"description": "Data Journalist, Senior Producer",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5513c5f3967df792aa65bee2501e84d6?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5513c5f3967df792aa65bee2501e84d6?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/lisapickoffwhite-2"
},
"mpeterson": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "11223",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "11223",
"found": true
},
"name": "Molly Peterson",
"firstName": "Molly",
"lastName": "Peterson",
"slug": "mpeterson",
"email": "mpeterson@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": false,
"staff_mastheads": [],
"title": null,
"bio": "Molly Peterson reports for KQED science and news on climate change, catastrophe and risk. Previously she was environment correspondent at Southern California Public Radio. Her work has also appeared at The New York Times, The Guardian, on NPR, at High Country News, on Code Switch, and other national outlets. She has been honored with awards from Public Radio News Directors Incorporated, Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Society for Professional Journalists, the Los Angeles Press Club, and RTNDA Edward R. Murrow awards, among others.",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/7908e2807131f776cc8165c649530b05?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": "Mollydacious",
"facebook": null,
"instagram": "https://www.instagram.com/radiomolly/",
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"subscriber"
]
},
{
"site": "futureofyou",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "science",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "Molly Peterson | KQED",
"description": null,
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/7908e2807131f776cc8165c649530b05?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/7908e2807131f776cc8165c649530b05?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/mpeterson"
},
"lesleymcclurg": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "11229",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "11229",
"found": true
},
"name": "Lesley McClurg",
"firstName": "Lesley",
"lastName": "McClurg",
"slug": "lesleymcclurg",
"email": "lmcclurg@KQED.org",
"display_author_email": false,
"staff_mastheads": [],
"title": "KQED Health Correspondent",
"bio": "Lesley McClurg is a health correspondent and fill-in host whose work is regularly rebroadcast on NPR and PBS programs. She’s earned multiple regional Emmy awards, a national and a regional Edward R. Murrow award, and was named Best Beat Reporter by the Association of Health Care Journalists. The Society of Professional Journalists has recognized her work several times, and the Society of Environmental Journalists spotlighted her coverage of California’s historic drought.\r\n\r\nBefore joining KQED in 2016, Lesley covered food and sustainability for Capital Public Radio, environmental issues for Colorado Public Radio, and reported for KUOW and KCTS 9 in Seattle. Away from the newsroom, she loves skiing with her daughter, mountain biking with her partner, and playing with Ollie, the family’s goldendoodle. On deadline, she runs almost entirely on chocolate chips.\r\n\r\n ",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bab49e972ea10c774fe0f5e29dba1722b158f7c0d58a360923d1389d380b2978?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": "lesleywmcclurg",
"bluesky": null,
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "arts",
"roles": [
"subscriber"
]
},
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"subscriber"
]
},
{
"site": "futureofyou",
"roles": [
"subscriber"
]
},
{
"site": "stateofhealth",
"roles": [
"subscriber"
]
},
{
"site": "science",
"roles": [
"subscriber"
]
},
{
"site": "quest",
"roles": [
"subscriber"
]
},
{
"site": "forum",
"roles": [
"subscriber"
]
},
{
"site": "liveblog",
"roles": [
"subscriber"
]
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "Lesley McClurg | KQED",
"description": "KQED Health Correspondent",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bab49e972ea10c774fe0f5e29dba1722b158f7c0d58a360923d1389d380b2978?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bab49e972ea10c774fe0f5e29dba1722b158f7c0d58a360923d1389d380b2978?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/lesleymcclurg"
},
"parcuni": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "11368",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "11368",
"found": true
},
"name": "Peter Arcuni",
"firstName": "Peter",
"lastName": "Arcuni",
"slug": "parcuni",
"email": "parcuni@KQED.org",
"display_author_email": false,
"staff_mastheads": [
"science"
],
"title": "Reporter",
"bio": "Peter reports radio and online stories for \u003cem>KQED Science\u003c/em>. His work has also appeared on the \u003cem>The California Report\u003c/em> morning show and \u003cem>KQED News\u003c/em>. His production credits include \u003cem>The California Report, The California Report Magazine\u003c/em> and KQED's local news podcast \u003cem>The Bay\u003c/em>. Other credits include NPR's \u003cem>All Things Considered\u003c/em>, WNYC's \u003cem>Science Friday\u003c/em>, WBUR's \u003cem>Here & Now\u003c/em>, WIRED and SFGate. Peter graduated from Brown University and earned a master's degree in journalism from Stanford. He's covered everything from homelessness to wildfires, health, the environment, arts and Thanksgiving in San Quentin prison. In other lives, he played rock n roll music and studied neuroscience. You can email him at: parcuni@kqed.org",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/d5032f6f27199d478af34ad2e1d98732?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": "peterarcuni",
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "science",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "Peter Arcuni | KQED",
"description": "Reporter",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/d5032f6f27199d478af34ad2e1d98732?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/d5032f6f27199d478af34ad2e1d98732?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/parcuni"
},
"thailye": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "11501",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "11501",
"found": true
},
"name": "Teodros Hailye",
"firstName": "Teodros",
"lastName": "Hailye",
"slug": "thailye",
"email": "thailye@KQED.org",
"display_author_email": false,
"staff_mastheads": [],
"title": "Information Designer",
"bio": null,
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bfb755f5a66ebaccd414e310b7d7c94a?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": null,
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "science",
"roles": []
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "Teodros Hailye | KQED",
"description": "Information Designer",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bfb755f5a66ebaccd414e310b7d7c94a?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bfb755f5a66ebaccd414e310b7d7c94a?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/thailye"
}
},
"pagesReducer": {
"science_category_medical-science": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_3890",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "3890",
"score": 13.898213
},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Medical Science",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Medical Science Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3890,
"slug": "medical-science",
"isLoading": false,
"title": "Medical Science",
"pageMeta": {
"site": "science",
"WpPageTemplate": "page-topic-editorial",
"currentPage": 9
},
"blocks": [
{
"blockName": "kqed/post-list",
"attrs": {
"layout": "cardArticle2",
"query": "posts/science?category=medical-science",
"seeMore": false,
"paginated": true,
"page": 9
}
},
{
"blockName": "kqed/ad"
}
]
}
},
"pfsSessionReducer": {},
"postsReducer": {
"stream_live": {
"type": "live",
"id": "stream_live",
"audioUrl": "https://streams.kqed.org/kqedradio",
"title": "Live Stream",
"excerpt": "Live Stream information currently unavailable.",
"link": "/radio",
"featImg": "",
"label": {
"name": "KQED Live",
"link": "/"
}
},
"stream_kqedNewscast": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stream_kqedNewscast",
"audioUrl": "https://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/RDnews/newscast.mp3?_=1",
"title": "KQED Newscast",
"featImg": "",
"label": {
"name": "88.5 FM",
"link": "/"
}
},
"science_1966181": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "science_1966181",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1966181",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1592592757000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1592592757,
"format": "standard",
"title": "Should You Get Tested for the Coronavirus? What Do the Results Mean? Our Testing FAQ",
"headTitle": "Should You Get Tested for the Coronavirus? What Do the Results Mean? Our Testing FAQ | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Health experts say widespread testing for the novel coronavirus is key to containing its spread and helping counties make decisions about reopening as the pandemic continues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Previously, shortages of swabs, reagents and other materials limited testing to people with more severe symptoms or to those with high risk of exposure. But now that these supplies are more readily available, Bay Area counties have ramped up testing and loosened criteria so that more people can learn if they are or have ever been infected with the coronavirus, the pathogen that causes COVID-19.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1964257/interactive-map-find-coronavirus-testing-sites-throughout-california\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Use this map to find a COVID-19 test site near you\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But just because more people in the Bay Area can get a test, does that mean everyone with access should? We asked medical experts who should get tested for COVID-19, when to get tested, and what the results can and can’t tell us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#Q1\">First: Which Test — Viral or Antibody?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#Q2\">Who’s Eligible for Coronavirus Testing?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#Q3\">Who Needs to Get Tested? Should I?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#Q4\">What About Mild Symptoms?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#Q5\">What Does a Negative Test Mean?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#Q6\">I Want to Visit Relatives, Should I Consider Getting a Test?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#Q7\">When Should I Get Tested After a Protest?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#Q8\">What Should I Do If I Test Positive?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"Q1\">\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>First: Which Test — Viral or Antibody?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Viral tests, often called PCR or RNA tests\u003c/b>, are typically administered by taking a swab sample from the back of the nasal cavity or throat. This can detect if your body is shedding virus — that is, if you currently have an active SARS-CoV-2 infection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experts say to keep in mind that it generally takes about five days after infection before it registers as positive, and you can still be exposed after you’ve been tested. So doctors say a negative PCR test result doesn’t mean you should let your guard down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Antibody, or serology, tests\u003c/b>, screen the blood for specific COVID-19 antibodies. These are proteins the immune system makes to fight the virus. Antibodies can take one to three weeks to build up, but are still detectable after patients recover from infection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Antibody tests can reveal if you already had the virus, even if you didn’t have symptoms. But experts don’t know for certain how protective COVID-19 antibodies are against future infection, so a positive test for antibodies doesn’t mean you are immune to the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neither viral nor antibody tests are 100% accurate. Research suggests PCR tests \u003ca href=\"https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-1495\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">may miss positive cases\u003c/a> about 20% of the time. The Food and Drug Administration now provides \u003ca href=\"https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/emergency-situations-medical-devices/eua-authorized-serology-test-performance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">performance results\u003c/a> for antibody tests from different manufacturers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"Q2\">\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>Who’s Eligible for PCR Testing?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has posted\u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/testing.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> guidelines for diagnostic testing\u003c/a> on its website.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Bay Area, a growing number of county health departments — including Santa Clara, Contra Costa and Solano — offer COVID-19 tests to all residents regardless of symptoms, and these are free if you don’t have insurance. Others, like San Francisco and Marin, require at least one symptom or some risk of exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many hospital clinics, private labs and health care providers like Kaiser and One Medical offer testing as well. Pop-up sites and community testing programs through Verily’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.projectbaseline.com/study/covid-19/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Project Baseline\u003c/a> provide additional avenues to get tested. Bay Area health departments have been working to increase testing in underserved communities, though gaps still exist in the Bay Area and across the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Who Needs to Get Tested? Should I?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>“\u003c/i>We need to be able to test people with symptoms, and contacts of people with the virus,” said Dr. Bob Wachter, chair of the Department of Medicine at UCSF.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Groups that experts say should get tested include medical and other front-line workers, vulnerable populations, and those who have attended mass gatherings like protests. Also included are those who have come into contact with a lot of other people, perhaps while commuting or at work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some hospitals, including UCSF and Stanford, test patients who are getting a medical procedure or are hospitalized with another illness. Wachter says testing a portion of people without symptoms will help public health experts anticipate a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1964968/charts-the-bay-area-is-opening-up-again-heres-tracking-data-for-each-county-to-see-how-its-going\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">surge in cases\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he doesn’t see a good reason for people who don’t have symptoms and are following stay-at-home orders to seek out a viral test. This is in part because the chances are low that a person without symptoms in the Bay Area has been infected with or is spreading the coronavirus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only around 1 in 250 patients at UCSF without COVID-19 symptoms have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus at UC Berkeley School of Public Health’s infectious disease division, said, “The more testing we do on a daily basis, the more accurate our numbers will be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Swartzberg agrees that not everyone needs a COVID-19 test. Public health departments, he says, can monitor cases by testing a representative sample of the population in line with the state’s goal of 200 tests a day per 100,000 residents. Researchers in the Bay Area are also screening large communities like\u003ca href=\"https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/05/417356/initial-results-mission-district-covid-19-testing-announced\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> San Francisco’s Mission District\u003c/a> to find out what percentage of people have the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re healthy and practicing social distancing, Swartzberg said, “There’s really not a particular value in screening to learn about yourself.\u003ci>”\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"Q4\">\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>What About Mild Symptoms?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s “no hard and fast rule” about when a symptom becomes serious enough to warrant a test, says Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, professor of pediatrics, epidemiology and population health at the Stanford School of Medicine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She recognizes this can be tricky to navigate for people with mild symptoms, given the source of a sore throat or runny nose could be something unrelated to the coronavirus, like pollen allergies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But people with a fever, difficulty breathing or multiple or persistent symptom should arrange for a test, she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you [just] have an itchy throat, probably not,” Maldonado said. “If you have an itchy throat and that night you develop a low-grade fever, yes, get a test.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Testing those with less serious symptoms, Maldonado says, can prompt people to isolate sooner if they have the virus. It can also help patients seek medical attention more quickly if symptoms progress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re on the fence about needing a test, Maldonado says you can wait a day or two and self-monitor while you keep socially distanced or call your health care provider for advice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"Q5\">\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>What Does a Negative Test Mean?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wachter says that because PCR, or RNA, test results only show whether or not patients currently have COVID-19, there’s a limit to how you should use the information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It can take three to five days, he says, between when you are exposed to when you would test positive. In some cases, the incubation period can last up to 14 days, and a patient could test negative during this “presymptomatic” period. The test also can’t account for any future exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A week from now, that test that you had today that was negative means virtually nothing,” Wachter said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Getting one negative PCR test, he says, shouldn’t give people a license to disregard social distancing practices, stop wearing masks or socialize in large groups. This, he says, would only increase the chances of getting the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wachter also cautions that PCR tests can also give false negatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you do have it, it’ll pick it up maybe four out of five times, meaning it’s going to be wrong one out of five times.” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wachter says it all comes down to probabilities. Getting a negative test significantly, but not entirely, reduces the chance you have the coronavirus for at least a few days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"Q6\">\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>I Want to Visit Elderly Relatives or Loved Ones, Should I Consider Getting a Test?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some health experts say yes, this is one scenario where a person without symptoms should consider getting a test.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I was on the fence about visiting and I had a negative test in the last couple of days, it might get me to leave the fence and go,” Wachter said. “But it would not lead me to give them a hug and a kiss, and I would still sit six feet away, and I would still wear a mask.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maldonado says given the choice between driving or flying to visit her 87-year-old dad, she would elect to drive. If you have to take a flight, she recommends getting tested beforehand and again about five days after arrival to make sure you weren’t exposed en route. In between tests, she says, she would “be very careful” and follow social distancing guidelines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this scenario, Maldonado says the risk that you have or are spreading the virus “is extremely low, but it’s not zero.” You’ll also want to get a test about five days after your return, she says, or be committed to isolating for a few weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"Q7\">\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>When Should I Get Tested After Attending a Protest?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you are at a protest or other mass gathering and get tested immediately after, that will likely be too soon for the test to detect the virus. Maldonado says people should instead wait about five days before getting a test.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you are being careful and you’re generally wearing a mask around other people and socially distancing, washing your hands, you’re probably not going to transmit,” she said. “But I would say by day five after exposure, I would consider getting a test at that point.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For many of the questions about travel, mass gatherings and testing, Maldonado says there are no firm answers. Rigorous studies, she says, will ultimately be needed to provide more clarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"Q8\">\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>What Should I Do if I Test Positive?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you don’t have symptoms and receive a positive test, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/end-home-isolation.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fprevent-getting-sick%2Fwhen-its-safe.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CDC\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.onemedical.com/blog/live-well/positive-covid-19-now-what\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">many health care providers\u003c/a> say the best practice is to self-isolate for 10 days. At this point, provided no symptoms develop, Wachter says, it would be unlikely that you have an active infection you could spread to others. But regardless, you would want to follow recommended social distancing guidelines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A follow-up test is generally not required in this case, he says, and some people continue to test positive after they are recovered and no longer contagious. The CDC says your health care provider can provide guidance and, “If you will be tested, you can be around others after you receive two negative test results in a row, at least 24 hours apart.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For people with symptoms and a positive test, CDC guidance is to remain isolated until you have gone three days without fever and 10 days since symptoms first appeared, provided the symptoms have improved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1871,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 53
},
"modified": 1704847285,
"excerpt": "With more COVID-19 testing available in the Bay Area, does that mean you should get tested? We asked some medical experts to weigh in.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "With more COVID-19 testing available in the Bay Area, does that mean you should get tested? We asked some medical experts to weigh in.",
"title": "Should You Get Tested for the Coronavirus? What Do the Results Mean? Our Testing FAQ | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Should You Get Tested for the Coronavirus? What Do the Results Mean? Our Testing FAQ",
"datePublished": "2020-06-19T11:52:37-07:00",
"dateModified": "2024-01-09T16:41:25-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "should-you-get-tested-for-the-coronavirus-what-do-the-results-mean-our-testing-faq",
"status": "publish",
"audioUrl": "https://traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/0af137ef-751e-4b19-a055-aaef00d2d578/ffca7e9f-6831-41c5-bcaf-aaef00f5a073/2c1b3b8d-1662-4ef3-8655-abdf0123fff4/audio.mp3",
"sticky": false,
"source": "Coronavirus",
"path": "/science/1966181/should-you-get-tested-for-the-coronavirus-what-do-the-results-mean-our-testing-faq",
"audioDuration": 186000,
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Health experts say widespread testing for the novel coronavirus is key to containing its spread and helping counties make decisions about reopening as the pandemic continues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Previously, shortages of swabs, reagents and other materials limited testing to people with more severe symptoms or to those with high risk of exposure. But now that these supplies are more readily available, Bay Area counties have ramped up testing and loosened criteria so that more people can learn if they are or have ever been infected with the coronavirus, the pathogen that causes COVID-19.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1964257/interactive-map-find-coronavirus-testing-sites-throughout-california\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Use this map to find a COVID-19 test site near you\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But just because more people in the Bay Area can get a test, does that mean everyone with access should? We asked medical experts who should get tested for COVID-19, when to get tested, and what the results can and can’t tell us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#Q1\">First: Which Test — Viral or Antibody?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#Q2\">Who’s Eligible for Coronavirus Testing?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#Q3\">Who Needs to Get Tested? Should I?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#Q4\">What About Mild Symptoms?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#Q5\">What Does a Negative Test Mean?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#Q6\">I Want to Visit Relatives, Should I Consider Getting a Test?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#Q7\">When Should I Get Tested After a Protest?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#Q8\">What Should I Do If I Test Positive?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"Q1\">\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>First: Which Test — Viral or Antibody?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Viral tests, often called PCR or RNA tests\u003c/b>, are typically administered by taking a swab sample from the back of the nasal cavity or throat. This can detect if your body is shedding virus — that is, if you currently have an active SARS-CoV-2 infection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experts say to keep in mind that it generally takes about five days after infection before it registers as positive, and you can still be exposed after you’ve been tested. So doctors say a negative PCR test result doesn’t mean you should let your guard down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Antibody, or serology, tests\u003c/b>, screen the blood for specific COVID-19 antibodies. These are proteins the immune system makes to fight the virus. Antibodies can take one to three weeks to build up, but are still detectable after patients recover from infection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Antibody tests can reveal if you already had the virus, even if you didn’t have symptoms. But experts don’t know for certain how protective COVID-19 antibodies are against future infection, so a positive test for antibodies doesn’t mean you are immune to the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neither viral nor antibody tests are 100% accurate. Research suggests PCR tests \u003ca href=\"https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-1495\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">may miss positive cases\u003c/a> about 20% of the time. The Food and Drug Administration now provides \u003ca href=\"https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/emergency-situations-medical-devices/eua-authorized-serology-test-performance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">performance results\u003c/a> for antibody tests from different manufacturers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"Q2\">\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>Who’s Eligible for PCR Testing?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has posted\u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/testing.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> guidelines for diagnostic testing\u003c/a> on its website.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Bay Area, a growing number of county health departments — including Santa Clara, Contra Costa and Solano — offer COVID-19 tests to all residents regardless of symptoms, and these are free if you don’t have insurance. Others, like San Francisco and Marin, require at least one symptom or some risk of exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many hospital clinics, private labs and health care providers like Kaiser and One Medical offer testing as well. Pop-up sites and community testing programs through Verily’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.projectbaseline.com/study/covid-19/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Project Baseline\u003c/a> provide additional avenues to get tested. Bay Area health departments have been working to increase testing in underserved communities, though gaps still exist in the Bay Area and across the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Who Needs to Get Tested? Should I?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>“\u003c/i>We need to be able to test people with symptoms, and contacts of people with the virus,” said Dr. Bob Wachter, chair of the Department of Medicine at UCSF.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Groups that experts say should get tested include medical and other front-line workers, vulnerable populations, and those who have attended mass gatherings like protests. Also included are those who have come into contact with a lot of other people, perhaps while commuting or at work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some hospitals, including UCSF and Stanford, test patients who are getting a medical procedure or are hospitalized with another illness. Wachter says testing a portion of people without symptoms will help public health experts anticipate a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1964968/charts-the-bay-area-is-opening-up-again-heres-tracking-data-for-each-county-to-see-how-its-going\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">surge in cases\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he doesn’t see a good reason for people who don’t have symptoms and are following stay-at-home orders to seek out a viral test. This is in part because the chances are low that a person without symptoms in the Bay Area has been infected with or is spreading the coronavirus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only around 1 in 250 patients at UCSF without COVID-19 symptoms have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus at UC Berkeley School of Public Health’s infectious disease division, said, “The more testing we do on a daily basis, the more accurate our numbers will be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Swartzberg agrees that not everyone needs a COVID-19 test. Public health departments, he says, can monitor cases by testing a representative sample of the population in line with the state’s goal of 200 tests a day per 100,000 residents. Researchers in the Bay Area are also screening large communities like\u003ca href=\"https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/05/417356/initial-results-mission-district-covid-19-testing-announced\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> San Francisco’s Mission District\u003c/a> to find out what percentage of people have the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re healthy and practicing social distancing, Swartzberg said, “There’s really not a particular value in screening to learn about yourself.\u003ci>”\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"Q4\">\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>What About Mild Symptoms?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s “no hard and fast rule” about when a symptom becomes serious enough to warrant a test, says Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, professor of pediatrics, epidemiology and population health at the Stanford School of Medicine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She recognizes this can be tricky to navigate for people with mild symptoms, given the source of a sore throat or runny nose could be something unrelated to the coronavirus, like pollen allergies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But people with a fever, difficulty breathing or multiple or persistent symptom should arrange for a test, she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you [just] have an itchy throat, probably not,” Maldonado said. “If you have an itchy throat and that night you develop a low-grade fever, yes, get a test.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Testing those with less serious symptoms, Maldonado says, can prompt people to isolate sooner if they have the virus. It can also help patients seek medical attention more quickly if symptoms progress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re on the fence about needing a test, Maldonado says you can wait a day or two and self-monitor while you keep socially distanced or call your health care provider for advice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"Q5\">\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>What Does a Negative Test Mean?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wachter says that because PCR, or RNA, test results only show whether or not patients currently have COVID-19, there’s a limit to how you should use the information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It can take three to five days, he says, between when you are exposed to when you would test positive. In some cases, the incubation period can last up to 14 days, and a patient could test negative during this “presymptomatic” period. The test also can’t account for any future exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A week from now, that test that you had today that was negative means virtually nothing,” Wachter said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Getting one negative PCR test, he says, shouldn’t give people a license to disregard social distancing practices, stop wearing masks or socialize in large groups. This, he says, would only increase the chances of getting the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wachter also cautions that PCR tests can also give false negatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you do have it, it’ll pick it up maybe four out of five times, meaning it’s going to be wrong one out of five times.” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wachter says it all comes down to probabilities. Getting a negative test significantly, but not entirely, reduces the chance you have the coronavirus for at least a few days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"Q6\">\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>I Want to Visit Elderly Relatives or Loved Ones, Should I Consider Getting a Test?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some health experts say yes, this is one scenario where a person without symptoms should consider getting a test.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I was on the fence about visiting and I had a negative test in the last couple of days, it might get me to leave the fence and go,” Wachter said. “But it would not lead me to give them a hug and a kiss, and I would still sit six feet away, and I would still wear a mask.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maldonado says given the choice between driving or flying to visit her 87-year-old dad, she would elect to drive. If you have to take a flight, she recommends getting tested beforehand and again about five days after arrival to make sure you weren’t exposed en route. In between tests, she says, she would “be very careful” and follow social distancing guidelines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this scenario, Maldonado says the risk that you have or are spreading the virus “is extremely low, but it’s not zero.” You’ll also want to get a test about five days after your return, she says, or be committed to isolating for a few weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"Q7\">\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>When Should I Get Tested After Attending a Protest?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you are at a protest or other mass gathering and get tested immediately after, that will likely be too soon for the test to detect the virus. Maldonado says people should instead wait about five days before getting a test.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you are being careful and you’re generally wearing a mask around other people and socially distancing, washing your hands, you’re probably not going to transmit,” she said. “But I would say by day five after exposure, I would consider getting a test at that point.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For many of the questions about travel, mass gatherings and testing, Maldonado says there are no firm answers. Rigorous studies, she says, will ultimately be needed to provide more clarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"Q8\">\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>What Should I Do if I Test Positive?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you don’t have symptoms and receive a positive test, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/end-home-isolation.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fprevent-getting-sick%2Fwhen-its-safe.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CDC\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.onemedical.com/blog/live-well/positive-covid-19-now-what\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">many health care providers\u003c/a> say the best practice is to self-isolate for 10 days. At this point, provided no symptoms develop, Wachter says, it would be unlikely that you have an active infection you could spread to others. But regardless, you would want to follow recommended social distancing guidelines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A follow-up test is generally not required in this case, he says, and some people continue to test positive after they are recovered and no longer contagious. The CDC says your health care provider can provide guidance and, “If you will be tested, you can be around others after you receive two negative test results in a row, at least 24 hours apart.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For people with symptoms and a positive test, CDC guidance is to remain isolated until you have gone three days without fever and 10 days since symptoms first appeared, provided the symptoms have improved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/science/1966181/should-you-get-tested-for-the-coronavirus-what-do-the-results-mean-our-testing-faq",
"authors": [
"11368"
],
"categories": [
"science_39",
"science_3890",
"science_40",
"science_4450"
],
"tags": [
"science_4329",
"science_5181"
],
"featImg": "science_1960004",
"label": "source_science_1966181"
},
"science_1966149": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "science_1966149",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1966149",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1592522362000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1592522362,
"format": "audio",
"title": "Weighing the Risks of Sending Kids to Camp or Day Care During the Coronavirus Pandemic",
"headTitle": "Weighing the Risks of Sending Kids to Camp or Day Care During the Coronavirus Pandemic | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp class=\"p1\">After three months of juggling work at home while I care for my 1-year-old daughter, my nerves are fried. Yet, the decision of whether or not to send my little girl back to day care while the coronavirus is still spreading is fraught, to say the least.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">Fortunately an early \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1958031/kids-are-less-susceptible-to-covid-19-but-its-not-clear-why\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">trend\u003c/span>\u003c/a> in the outbreak continues to be true.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">“Kids very rarely get sick,” said Bob Wachter, chair of the Department of Medicine at UCSF.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">The stats back him up. Only 1.1% of the nearly 2 million\u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/index.html#demographics\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\"> cases of coronavirus\u003c/span>\u003c/a> in the nation are children under 4, and less than 4% are ages 5-17, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0962-9\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">Research \u003c/span>\u003c/a>analyzing data from six countries, including China and Italy, concludes that kids and teens are half as likely as adults to catch COVID-19.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">“We know globally COVID hits adults more than children,” said Dr. Lee Atkinson-McEvoy, division chief of general pediatrics at UCSF. “The younger the child, the less the prevalence. And that includes countries that have had access to wider testing than we’ve had here in the United States.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">\u003cb>Are Kids Contagious?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">Doctors say kids do not likely make up a significant cohort\u003cb> \u003c/b>of\u003cb> \u003c/b> the notorious asymptomatic or presymptomatic coronavirus cases we have heard so much about. Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, an infectious disease expert at Stanford, says outbreaks in China suggest kids are catching the coronavirus at home from adults and not the other way around.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">“It’s relatively unusual for kids to transmit the virus to adults,” said Wachter. “That’s different than many other viruses, where the kids are really important vectors. And it’s not 100 percent clear why that is.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">One \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2766524\">\u003cspan class=\"s2\">study\u003c/span>\u003c/a> suggests COVID-19 may not be gaining a foothold in kids because they lack the host receptor for coronaviruses, which likely burrow into a protein on the surface of our nasal membranes. Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sina\u003cspan class=\"s3\">i\u003c/span> Hospital in New York City report finding fewer of these structures, which are called ACE2, in the noses of children than are found in those of adults. But a lot more research is needed to confirm this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">At least one case cluster, however, suggests kids can pass the virus on to each other. When a school recently opened in Israel, at least 130 students and staff \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/06/03/868507524/israel-orders-schools-to-close-when-covid-19-cases-are-discovered\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">fell ill\u003c/span>\u003c/a>. Plus, the low-prevalence data we are seeing in American kids mostly reflects a time when families were staying at home. It’s possible the picture could change dramatically when schools open up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">Scientists are not likely to gain a complete understanding of the virus’ transmission pathways until the widespread availability of antibody testing, which can identify prior infections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">\u003cb>COVID-19 Cases in Children\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">When kids do catch COVID-19, they experience cold-like symptoms such as fever, runny nose and cough. Vomiting and diarrhea are rare. And children are, so far, not experiencing acute respiratory distress syndrome or septic shock, which is occurring in some adults.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">Infants, however, can be quite vulnerable. \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7190200/\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">Research\u003c/span>\u003c/a> from Italy suggests infants experience severe cases. A \u003ca href=\"https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2020/03/16/peds.2020-0702/tab-article-info?versioned=true\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">study\u003c/span>\u003c/a> from China looking at 2,143 pediatric patients found that 10% of babies who contracted the virus required hospital care, even if\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"> \u003c/span>the patients had good overall outcomes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">A few hundred children have developed a new inflammatory syndrome, similar to \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/kawasaki/index.html\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">Kawasaki disease\u003c/span>\u003c/a>, several weeks after a mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 infection. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/06/07/864493574/doctors-race-for-answers-as-kids-fight-rare-inflammatory-syndrome-tied-to-corona\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">illness\u003c/span>\u003c/a>, Multisystem-Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, or MIS-C, can lead to swelling, high fever, body rash, red eyes and lips, and a strawberry-colored tongue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">Whether COVID-19 is triggering this new disease or it’s a completely separate entity was the subject of a recent UCSF \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny4NivhjHAQ\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">discussion\u003c/span>\u003c/a>. “It’s not clear yet,” said UCSF pediatric rheumatologist Susan Kim.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">Doctors also caution that premature infants and children with underlying chronic health conditions are still at high risk for developing complications.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">\u003cb>Is Child Care or Summer Camp Safe?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">So what about my dilemma over whether to send my toddler to day care?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">“It feels like it’s safe enough to do as long as we’re watching very, very carefully,” Wachter said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when the The \u003cspan class=\"s1\">New York Times\u003c/span> \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/12/upshot/epidemiologists-decisions-children-school-coronavirus.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">asked\u003c/a> hundreds of epidemiologists at what point they’d send their kids back to school, camp or child care, just 10 percent said they’d feel comfortable “now.” Twenty percent said they would wait until this summer, and 40 percent said not until fall. All of which is considerably sooner than the majority felt comfortable attending other indoor group events like concerts or movies. Comments from the professionals ranged from “Children are relatively safe” to “Really. Stupid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">Atkinson-McEvoy recommends parents ask child care providers lots of questions to ensure programs follow \u003ca href=\"https://covid19.ca.gov/pdf/guidance-childcare.pdf\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">state\u003c/span>\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schools-faq.html\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">federal\u003c/span>\u003c/a> guidelines requiring social distancing and sanitized play structures. California is also limiting child care groups to fewer than 12 kids, and families must enroll in programs for three continuous weeks to ensure lower student turnover. Doctors are optimistic these strategies will reduce transmission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">If possible, ask to tour a facility before signing up. When Atkinson-McEvoy considered sending her daughter to a competitive softball program this summer, she took the leap after she saw the coach was diligently ensuring players stayed far enough apart from each other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">She notes that parents have to weigh potential exposure for the family against the mental well-being of their children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">“We’re definitely starting to see behavioral changes in our children from being at home, including seeing children who are showing signs of anxiety and/or depression,” she said. “Being able to socially connect with peers and resume some normal activity is an important tool one would use to help with that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">Plus, camps or day care may help tired parents refuel their tanks. If you do take the child-care plunge, you can lower your family’s overall risk by reducing other behaviors like taking fewer trips to the grocery store.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">Public health experts recommend children follow the same preventive actions as adults to avoid infection. Wash hands frequently throughout the day with hot soapy water. Try to teach your children to avoid touching their face. Carry alcohol-based hand sanitizer or disinfectant wipes. Here is CDC \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schools-faq.html\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">advice\u003c/span>\u003c/a> related to schools and child care in the age of COVID-19.\u003c/p>\n\n",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1098,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 3
},
"modified": 1706228526,
"excerpt": "The data suggests kids are less susceptible to COVID-19. But does that mean it's safe to send them off to mingle with other children while the coronavirus is still very much active? Here's what you should know. ",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "The data suggests kids are less susceptible to COVID-19. But does that mean it's safe to send them off to mingle with other children while the coronavirus is still very much active? Here's what you should know. ",
"title": "Weighing the Risks of Sending Kids to Camp or Day Care During the Coronavirus Pandemic | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Weighing the Risks of Sending Kids to Camp or Day Care During the Coronavirus Pandemic",
"datePublished": "2020-06-18T16:19:22-07:00",
"dateModified": "2024-01-25T16:22:06-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "weighing-the-risks-of-sending-kids-to-camp-or-day-care-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic",
"status": "publish",
"sourceUrl": "https://www.kqed.org/science/tag/coronavirus",
"templateType": "standard",
"audioUrl": "https://traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/0af137ef-751e-4b19-a055-aaef00d2d578/ffca7e9f-6831-41c5-bcaf-aaef00f5a073/a7777434-1858-43f6-8e15-abde01286833/audio.mp3",
"excludeFromSiteSearch": "Include",
"featuredImageType": "standard",
"sticky": false,
"source": "Coronavirus",
"articleAge": "0",
"path": "/science/1966149/weighing-the-risks-of-sending-kids-to-camp-or-day-care-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp class=\"p1\">After three months of juggling work at home while I care for my 1-year-old daughter, my nerves are fried. Yet, the decision of whether or not to send my little girl back to day care while the coronavirus is still spreading is fraught, to say the least.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">Fortunately an early \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1958031/kids-are-less-susceptible-to-covid-19-but-its-not-clear-why\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">trend\u003c/span>\u003c/a> in the outbreak continues to be true.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">“Kids very rarely get sick,” said Bob Wachter, chair of the Department of Medicine at UCSF.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">The stats back him up. Only 1.1% of the nearly 2 million\u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/index.html#demographics\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\"> cases of coronavirus\u003c/span>\u003c/a> in the nation are children under 4, and less than 4% are ages 5-17, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0962-9\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">Research \u003c/span>\u003c/a>analyzing data from six countries, including China and Italy, concludes that kids and teens are half as likely as adults to catch COVID-19.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">“We know globally COVID hits adults more than children,” said Dr. Lee Atkinson-McEvoy, division chief of general pediatrics at UCSF. “The younger the child, the less the prevalence. And that includes countries that have had access to wider testing than we’ve had here in the United States.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">\u003cb>Are Kids Contagious?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">Doctors say kids do not likely make up a significant cohort\u003cb> \u003c/b>of\u003cb> \u003c/b> the notorious asymptomatic or presymptomatic coronavirus cases we have heard so much about. Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, an infectious disease expert at Stanford, says outbreaks in China suggest kids are catching the coronavirus at home from adults and not the other way around.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">“It’s relatively unusual for kids to transmit the virus to adults,” said Wachter. “That’s different than many other viruses, where the kids are really important vectors. And it’s not 100 percent clear why that is.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">One \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2766524\">\u003cspan class=\"s2\">study\u003c/span>\u003c/a> suggests COVID-19 may not be gaining a foothold in kids because they lack the host receptor for coronaviruses, which likely burrow into a protein on the surface of our nasal membranes. Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sina\u003cspan class=\"s3\">i\u003c/span> Hospital in New York City report finding fewer of these structures, which are called ACE2, in the noses of children than are found in those of adults. But a lot more research is needed to confirm this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">At least one case cluster, however, suggests kids can pass the virus on to each other. When a school recently opened in Israel, at least 130 students and staff \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/06/03/868507524/israel-orders-schools-to-close-when-covid-19-cases-are-discovered\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">fell ill\u003c/span>\u003c/a>. Plus, the low-prevalence data we are seeing in American kids mostly reflects a time when families were staying at home. It’s possible the picture could change dramatically when schools open up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">Scientists are not likely to gain a complete understanding of the virus’ transmission pathways until the widespread availability of antibody testing, which can identify prior infections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">\u003cb>COVID-19 Cases in Children\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">When kids do catch COVID-19, they experience cold-like symptoms such as fever, runny nose and cough. Vomiting and diarrhea are rare. And children are, so far, not experiencing acute respiratory distress syndrome or septic shock, which is occurring in some adults.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">Infants, however, can be quite vulnerable. \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7190200/\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">Research\u003c/span>\u003c/a> from Italy suggests infants experience severe cases. A \u003ca href=\"https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2020/03/16/peds.2020-0702/tab-article-info?versioned=true\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">study\u003c/span>\u003c/a> from China looking at 2,143 pediatric patients found that 10% of babies who contracted the virus required hospital care, even if\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"> \u003c/span>the patients had good overall outcomes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">A few hundred children have developed a new inflammatory syndrome, similar to \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/kawasaki/index.html\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">Kawasaki disease\u003c/span>\u003c/a>, several weeks after a mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 infection. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/06/07/864493574/doctors-race-for-answers-as-kids-fight-rare-inflammatory-syndrome-tied-to-corona\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">illness\u003c/span>\u003c/a>, Multisystem-Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, or MIS-C, can lead to swelling, high fever, body rash, red eyes and lips, and a strawberry-colored tongue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">Whether COVID-19 is triggering this new disease or it’s a completely separate entity was the subject of a recent UCSF \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny4NivhjHAQ\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">discussion\u003c/span>\u003c/a>. “It’s not clear yet,” said UCSF pediatric rheumatologist Susan Kim.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">Doctors also caution that premature infants and children with underlying chronic health conditions are still at high risk for developing complications.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">\u003cb>Is Child Care or Summer Camp Safe?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">So what about my dilemma over whether to send my toddler to day care?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">“It feels like it’s safe enough to do as long as we’re watching very, very carefully,” Wachter said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when the The \u003cspan class=\"s1\">New York Times\u003c/span> \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/12/upshot/epidemiologists-decisions-children-school-coronavirus.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">asked\u003c/a> hundreds of epidemiologists at what point they’d send their kids back to school, camp or child care, just 10 percent said they’d feel comfortable “now.” Twenty percent said they would wait until this summer, and 40 percent said not until fall. All of which is considerably sooner than the majority felt comfortable attending other indoor group events like concerts or movies. Comments from the professionals ranged from “Children are relatively safe” to “Really. Stupid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">Atkinson-McEvoy recommends parents ask child care providers lots of questions to ensure programs follow \u003ca href=\"https://covid19.ca.gov/pdf/guidance-childcare.pdf\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">state\u003c/span>\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schools-faq.html\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">federal\u003c/span>\u003c/a> guidelines requiring social distancing and sanitized play structures. California is also limiting child care groups to fewer than 12 kids, and families must enroll in programs for three continuous weeks to ensure lower student turnover. Doctors are optimistic these strategies will reduce transmission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">If possible, ask to tour a facility before signing up. When Atkinson-McEvoy considered sending her daughter to a competitive softball program this summer, she took the leap after she saw the coach was diligently ensuring players stayed far enough apart from each other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">She notes that parents have to weigh potential exposure for the family against the mental well-being of their children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">“We’re definitely starting to see behavioral changes in our children from being at home, including seeing children who are showing signs of anxiety and/or depression,” she said. “Being able to socially connect with peers and resume some normal activity is an important tool one would use to help with that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">Plus, camps or day care may help tired parents refuel their tanks. If you do take the child-care plunge, you can lower your family’s overall risk by reducing other behaviors like taking fewer trips to the grocery store.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">Public health experts recommend children follow the same preventive actions as adults to avoid infection. Wash hands frequently throughout the day with hot soapy water. Try to teach your children to avoid touching their face. Carry alcohol-based hand sanitizer or disinfectant wipes. Here is CDC \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schools-faq.html\">\u003cspan class=\"s1\">advice\u003c/span>\u003c/a> related to schools and child care in the age of COVID-19.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/science/1966149/weighing-the-risks-of-sending-kids-to-camp-or-day-care-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic",
"authors": [
"11229"
],
"categories": [
"science_32",
"science_39",
"science_3890",
"science_40",
"science_4450"
],
"tags": [
"science_512",
"science_4329",
"science_4414"
],
"featImg": "science_1966172",
"label": "source_science_1966149"
},
"science_1966047": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "science_1966047",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1966047",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1592340909000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1592340909,
"format": "aside",
"title": "Things Are Getting Really Ugly for California Public Health Officers",
"headTitle": "Things Are Getting Really Ugly for California Public Health Officers | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Leigh Dundas angrily wagged her finger at Orange County supervisors at their board \u003ca href=\"https://ocgov.granicus.com/player/clip/3709?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">meeting\u003c/a> last month as she ticked off what she thought were damning details about the professional background of county health officer Nichole Quick. The anti-vaccination attorney named Quick’s boyfriend and disclosed her home address, saying she was going to bring protesters in masks to do calisthenics on her front doorstep until they passed out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She needs to be fired,” Dundas declared.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align='right' citation='Kat DeBurgh, executive director of the Health Officers Association of California']‘We’ve never seen this level of public comment becoming threatening, a personal attack, a questioning of a health officer’s motivation.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a strikingly personal attack on Quick, who had vexed many local officials and residents alike with her recent order requiring that people wear masks when in public to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. The county sheriff provided her with a security detail even as he said he would not enforce the mask order. Finally, under pressure from both county supervisors and the public, Quick resigned last week, the third high-level Orange County health official to do so during the pandemic. And Orange County \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/12/health/california-lifts-mask-requirement-trnd/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reversed her mask order\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local public health officers haven’t been this important in a century. They’re also being second-guessed, harassed and threatened by residents, and sometimes local leaders, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2020/05/anti-newsom-protests-reopen-california-coronavirus-pandemic/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">angry about pandemic shutdowns\u003c/a>. Some have simply quit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Four other health officers in California have resigned or retired in the last two months, in Nevada, San Benito, Yolo and Butte counties, as have two public health department directors in San Bernardino and Orange counties (in addition to Quick). On Monday, the state \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/ncov2019.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reported\u003c/a> nearly 150,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 5,000 deaths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This isn’t just happening in California. Ohio’s state health director, Amy Acton, \u003ca href=\"https://abcnews.go.com/US/amy-acton-ohios-embattled-health-director-resigns-amid/story?id=71202353\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">resigned last week\u003c/a> after facing legal challenges to her authority and protests in front of her home. Wisconsin state health director Jeanne Ayers \u003ca href=\"https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2020/06/08/evers-administration-wont-say-why-state-top-public-health-official-asked-resign-amid-outbreak/5319973002/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">was asked to resign\u003c/a> in early May, at a time when COVID-19 cases in the state \u003ca href=\"https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/cases.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">had surpassed 10,000\u003c/a>, and top officials would not say why.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Things have gotten ugly,” said one Northern California health officer who asked not to be named over personal safety concerns. “The health officers are kind of in this position where everything that everyone is angry about is the health officer’s fault.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The official described death threats received by email and on social media as well as protesters showing up to their home. “It … makes you feel that there is nowhere that’s safe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1965798\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1965798\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Orange-County-coronavirus-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Orange-County-coronavirus-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Orange-County-coronavirus-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Orange-County-coronavirus-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Orange-County-coronavirus-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Orange-County-coronavirus.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An unidentified woman wears a face scarf as a preventive measure against the spread of the coronavirus during a demonstration on May 1, 2020, in Huntington Beach, California. \u003ccite>(Apu Gomes/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2020/05/newsom-defiant-counties-churches-coronavirus-shutdown-restrictions/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reopening strategy\u003c/a>, which asks counties to certify that their COVID-19 cases are under control, was a “terrible decision…that deflected all the political pressure to local officers,” the Northern California officer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>County health officers occupy a unique position in local government. They’re responsible for overseeing the public health response to disease outbreaks, among many other duties. Every county, and a few cities that run their own public health departments, must designate one. They are not elected officials and typically are appointed by county executives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In emergency situations, health officers have \u003ca href=\"https://www.smgov.net/departments/oem/sems/proclamations-and-declarations/authorities-and-responsibilities-of-local-health-officers-in-disasters.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">legal authority\u003c/a> to shut down businesses, order millions of people to stay at home, isolate or quarantine people, even order mass evacuations. They also can issue orders, such as requiring people to wear masks in public, that are stricter than state mandates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their authority can be challenged in court, and health officers are subject to due process, said Kat DeBurgh, executive director of the Health Officers Association of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that power comes with a price as the worst pandemic in a century unfolds in a politically polarized nation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Health officers are always there working in the background to protect communities from communicable disease. This is the first time I’ve seen this level of animosity,” DeBurgh said, noting that one health officer she would not name has a sheriff’s security detail posted outside her home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Health officers all over the state are feeling tremendous pressure, not just the expected pressures of working really hard to stop this virus,” she added. “We’ve never seen this level of public comment becoming threatening, a personal attack, a questioning of a health officer’s motivation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Californians emboldened by a president who initially \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/44-times-trump-downplayed-the-coronavirus/2020/03/05/790f5afb-4dda-48bf-abe1-b7d152d5138c_video.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">played down\u003c/a> the pandemic and now \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/05/08/852093558/the-president-as-a-model-for-the-nation-from-toasters-and-sweaters-to-masks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">refuses to wear a mask\u003c/a>, feel freer to vent their frustrations on health officers placed front-and-center at press conferences and government meetings, said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, who served as Los Angeles County’s health officer for 16 years and now is a professor at the UCLA school of public health that bears his name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“None of us has the unfettered right to do what we want,” Fielding said. “People are saying, ‘Our president’s not doing this, why do I have to?’ That’s one of the roots of this problem — the radicalization of views on individual rights.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A full-page \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/MorganHillChamber/photos/a.427963328578/10157624383213579/?type=3&theater\">ad\u003c/a> published in the The Mercury News in San Jose blasted Santa Clara County health officer Dr. Sara Cody, \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/29/she-shut-down-the-bay-area-to-slow-the-deadly-coronavirus-none-of-us-really-believed-we-would-do-it/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">who ordered\u003c/a> the nation’s first local shelter-in-place lockdown. It accused Cody of “cratering our economy” and asked her to permanently donate her salary and pension to “those you are impoverishing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On social media, people \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/afs:Content:8956530071\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">circulated a doctored photo\u003c/a> of Los Angeles county health officer Dr. Barbara Ferrer that made her appear very ill, with pale skin and deep circles under her eyes. A \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/jakecoco/status/1261372969147699201\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tweet\u003c/a> calling Ferrer “the most unhealthy looking person I’ve ever seen” was retweeted 29,000 times and “liked” by more than 89,000 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a sign of just how tense things have become, Santa Cruz County supervisors in late May \u003ca href=\"https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2020/05/29/amid-rancor-santa-cruz-county-applies-for-reopening-variance/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">briefly shut down\u003c/a> a public meeting about reopening when a pizzeria owner approaching a microphone veered away and started walking toward the county’s health officer. He told the supervisors he was just trying to read her name, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported, but they weren’t taking chances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are deeply concerned that politics may be trumping public interest in some of these cases, and that the public’s health may be compromised as a result,” California Medical Association President Dr. Peter Bretan Jr. said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly nine in 10 Californians agree that shelter-in-place orders are necessary to protect public health, according to California Health Care Foundation polling. But about 38% of Californians agree that the COVID-19 regulations “go too far,” the poll shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former Santa Barbara County health officer Dr. Charity Dean, who had become second-in-command at the state Department of Public Health, submitted her resignation June 4, as \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/12/coronavirus-public-health-officials-face-political-pressure-threats-and-armed-protests.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">first reported\u003c/a> by CNBC. A few days later, she tweeted her encouragement to other health officers:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/drcharitydean/status/1270582184915554310?s=20\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Sen. Richard Pan, a pediatrician who has received death threats and been \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article234231737.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">shoved\u003c/a> by an activist over his childhood immunization lawmaking, described the statewide harassment of public health officers as “shameful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our public health officers are given the responsibility to act in the best interest of the public – they certainly should not be personally attacked and bullied and intimidated,” Pan said. “The job’s already challenging enough.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters.org\u003c/a> is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"SandboxRoot env-bp-350\" data-twitter-event-id=\"0\">\n\u003cdiv id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"EmbeddedTweet EmbeddedTweet--cta js-clickToOpenTarget\" lang=\"en\" data-click-to-open-target=\"https://twitter.com/drcharitydean/status/1270582184915554310\" data-iframe-title=\"Twitter Tweet\" data-scribe=\"page:tweet\" data-twitter-event-id=\"1\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"EmbeddedTweet-tweetContainer\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"EmbeddedTweet-tweet\">\n\u003cblockquote class=\"Tweet h-entry js-tweetIdInfo subject expanded\" cite=\"https://twitter.com/drcharitydean/status/1270582184915554310\" data-tweet-id=\"1270582184915554310\" data-scribe=\"section:subject\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"Tweet-header\">\u003c/div>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\n",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1364,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 29
},
"modified": 1704847298,
"excerpt": "Local public health officers haven’t been this important in a century. They’re also being second-guessed, harassed and threatened by residents angry about pandemic precautions.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "Local public health officers haven’t been this important in a century. They’re also being second-guessed, harassed and threatened by residents angry about pandemic precautions.",
"title": "Things Are Getting Really Ugly for California Public Health Officers | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Things Are Getting Really Ugly for California Public Health Officers",
"datePublished": "2020-06-16T13:55:09-07:00",
"dateModified": "2024-01-09T16:41:38-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "things-are-getting-really-ugly-for-california-public-health-officers",
"status": "publish",
"nprByline": "Barbara Feder Ostrov \u003cbr />CalMatters\u003cbr>",
"sticky": false,
"source": "CalMatters",
"path": "/science/1966047/things-are-getting-really-ugly-for-california-public-health-officers",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Leigh Dundas angrily wagged her finger at Orange County supervisors at their board \u003ca href=\"https://ocgov.granicus.com/player/clip/3709?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">meeting\u003c/a> last month as she ticked off what she thought were damning details about the professional background of county health officer Nichole Quick. The anti-vaccination attorney named Quick’s boyfriend and disclosed her home address, saying she was going to bring protesters in masks to do calisthenics on her front doorstep until they passed out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She needs to be fired,” Dundas declared.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "‘We’ve never seen this level of public comment becoming threatening, a personal attack, a questioning of a health officer’s motivation.’",
"name": "pullquote",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"align": "right",
"citation": "Kat DeBurgh, executive director of the Health Officers Association of California",
"label": ""
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a strikingly personal attack on Quick, who had vexed many local officials and residents alike with her recent order requiring that people wear masks when in public to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. The county sheriff provided her with a security detail even as he said he would not enforce the mask order. Finally, under pressure from both county supervisors and the public, Quick resigned last week, the third high-level Orange County health official to do so during the pandemic. And Orange County \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/12/health/california-lifts-mask-requirement-trnd/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reversed her mask order\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local public health officers haven’t been this important in a century. They’re also being second-guessed, harassed and threatened by residents, and sometimes local leaders, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2020/05/anti-newsom-protests-reopen-california-coronavirus-pandemic/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">angry about pandemic shutdowns\u003c/a>. Some have simply quit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Four other health officers in California have resigned or retired in the last two months, in Nevada, San Benito, Yolo and Butte counties, as have two public health department directors in San Bernardino and Orange counties (in addition to Quick). On Monday, the state \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/ncov2019.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reported\u003c/a> nearly 150,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 5,000 deaths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This isn’t just happening in California. Ohio’s state health director, Amy Acton, \u003ca href=\"https://abcnews.go.com/US/amy-acton-ohios-embattled-health-director-resigns-amid/story?id=71202353\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">resigned last week\u003c/a> after facing legal challenges to her authority and protests in front of her home. Wisconsin state health director Jeanne Ayers \u003ca href=\"https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2020/06/08/evers-administration-wont-say-why-state-top-public-health-official-asked-resign-amid-outbreak/5319973002/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">was asked to resign\u003c/a> in early May, at a time when COVID-19 cases in the state \u003ca href=\"https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/cases.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">had surpassed 10,000\u003c/a>, and top officials would not say why.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Things have gotten ugly,” said one Northern California health officer who asked not to be named over personal safety concerns. “The health officers are kind of in this position where everything that everyone is angry about is the health officer’s fault.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The official described death threats received by email and on social media as well as protesters showing up to their home. “It … makes you feel that there is nowhere that’s safe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1965798\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1965798\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Orange-County-coronavirus-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Orange-County-coronavirus-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Orange-County-coronavirus-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Orange-County-coronavirus-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Orange-County-coronavirus-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Orange-County-coronavirus.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An unidentified woman wears a face scarf as a preventive measure against the spread of the coronavirus during a demonstration on May 1, 2020, in Huntington Beach, California. \u003ccite>(Apu Gomes/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2020/05/newsom-defiant-counties-churches-coronavirus-shutdown-restrictions/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reopening strategy\u003c/a>, which asks counties to certify that their COVID-19 cases are under control, was a “terrible decision…that deflected all the political pressure to local officers,” the Northern California officer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>County health officers occupy a unique position in local government. They’re responsible for overseeing the public health response to disease outbreaks, among many other duties. Every county, and a few cities that run their own public health departments, must designate one. They are not elected officials and typically are appointed by county executives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In emergency situations, health officers have \u003ca href=\"https://www.smgov.net/departments/oem/sems/proclamations-and-declarations/authorities-and-responsibilities-of-local-health-officers-in-disasters.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">legal authority\u003c/a> to shut down businesses, order millions of people to stay at home, isolate or quarantine people, even order mass evacuations. They also can issue orders, such as requiring people to wear masks in public, that are stricter than state mandates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their authority can be challenged in court, and health officers are subject to due process, said Kat DeBurgh, executive director of the Health Officers Association of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that power comes with a price as the worst pandemic in a century unfolds in a politically polarized nation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Health officers are always there working in the background to protect communities from communicable disease. This is the first time I’ve seen this level of animosity,” DeBurgh said, noting that one health officer she would not name has a sheriff’s security detail posted outside her home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Health officers all over the state are feeling tremendous pressure, not just the expected pressures of working really hard to stop this virus,” she added. “We’ve never seen this level of public comment becoming threatening, a personal attack, a questioning of a health officer’s motivation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Californians emboldened by a president who initially \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/44-times-trump-downplayed-the-coronavirus/2020/03/05/790f5afb-4dda-48bf-abe1-b7d152d5138c_video.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">played down\u003c/a> the pandemic and now \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/05/08/852093558/the-president-as-a-model-for-the-nation-from-toasters-and-sweaters-to-masks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">refuses to wear a mask\u003c/a>, feel freer to vent their frustrations on health officers placed front-and-center at press conferences and government meetings, said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, who served as Los Angeles County’s health officer for 16 years and now is a professor at the UCLA school of public health that bears his name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“None of us has the unfettered right to do what we want,” Fielding said. “People are saying, ‘Our president’s not doing this, why do I have to?’ That’s one of the roots of this problem — the radicalization of views on individual rights.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A full-page \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/MorganHillChamber/photos/a.427963328578/10157624383213579/?type=3&theater\">ad\u003c/a> published in the The Mercury News in San Jose blasted Santa Clara County health officer Dr. Sara Cody, \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/29/she-shut-down-the-bay-area-to-slow-the-deadly-coronavirus-none-of-us-really-believed-we-would-do-it/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">who ordered\u003c/a> the nation’s first local shelter-in-place lockdown. It accused Cody of “cratering our economy” and asked her to permanently donate her salary and pension to “those you are impoverishing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On social media, people \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/afs:Content:8956530071\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">circulated a doctored photo\u003c/a> of Los Angeles county health officer Dr. Barbara Ferrer that made her appear very ill, with pale skin and deep circles under her eyes. A \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/jakecoco/status/1261372969147699201\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tweet\u003c/a> calling Ferrer “the most unhealthy looking person I’ve ever seen” was retweeted 29,000 times and “liked” by more than 89,000 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a sign of just how tense things have become, Santa Cruz County supervisors in late May \u003ca href=\"https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2020/05/29/amid-rancor-santa-cruz-county-applies-for-reopening-variance/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">briefly shut down\u003c/a> a public meeting about reopening when a pizzeria owner approaching a microphone veered away and started walking toward the county’s health officer. He told the supervisors he was just trying to read her name, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported, but they weren’t taking chances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are deeply concerned that politics may be trumping public interest in some of these cases, and that the public’s health may be compromised as a result,” California Medical Association President Dr. Peter Bretan Jr. said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly nine in 10 Californians agree that shelter-in-place orders are necessary to protect public health, according to California Health Care Foundation polling. But about 38% of Californians agree that the COVID-19 regulations “go too far,” the poll shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former Santa Barbara County health officer Dr. Charity Dean, who had become second-in-command at the state Department of Public Health, submitted her resignation June 4, as \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/12/coronavirus-public-health-officials-face-political-pressure-threats-and-armed-protests.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">first reported\u003c/a> by CNBC. A few days later, she tweeted her encouragement to other health officers:\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "singleTwitterStatus",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"id": "1270582184915554310"
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>State Sen. Richard Pan, a pediatrician who has received death threats and been \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article234231737.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">shoved\u003c/a> by an activist over his childhood immunization lawmaking, described the statewide harassment of public health officers as “shameful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our public health officers are given the responsibility to act in the best interest of the public – they certainly should not be personally attacked and bullied and intimidated,” Pan said. “The job’s already challenging enough.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters.org\u003c/a> is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"SandboxRoot env-bp-350\" data-twitter-event-id=\"0\">\n\u003cdiv id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"EmbeddedTweet EmbeddedTweet--cta js-clickToOpenTarget\" lang=\"en\" data-click-to-open-target=\"https://twitter.com/drcharitydean/status/1270582184915554310\" data-iframe-title=\"Twitter Tweet\" data-scribe=\"page:tweet\" data-twitter-event-id=\"1\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"EmbeddedTweet-tweetContainer\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"EmbeddedTweet-tweet\">\n\u003cblockquote class=\"Tweet h-entry js-tweetIdInfo subject expanded\" cite=\"https://twitter.com/drcharitydean/status/1270582184915554310\" data-tweet-id=\"1270582184915554310\" data-scribe=\"section:subject\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"Tweet-header\">\u003c/div>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/science/1966047/things-are-getting-really-ugly-for-california-public-health-officers",
"authors": [
"byline_science_1966047"
],
"categories": [
"science_39",
"science_3890",
"science_40",
"science_4450"
],
"tags": [
"science_4329",
"science_4414",
"science_5181"
],
"featImg": "science_1966052",
"label": "source_science_1966047"
},
"science_1965993": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "science_1965993",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1965993",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1592253766000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1592253766,
"format": "standard",
"title": "Who's Dying of COVID-19 May Be Determined Just as Much by Race as by Age",
"headTitle": "Who’s Dying of COVID-19 May Be Determined Just as Much by Race as by Age | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"big-cap-wrap\">\u003cspan class=\"big-cap\">W\u003c/span>\u003c/span>hile early studies of who was dying of COVID-19 identified risks such as obesity and having diabetes, there is a growing realization that those initial conclusions might have been misleading, obscuring a more significant explanation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As researchers pull back their lens from individuals to population-level risk factors, they’re finding that, in the U.S., race may be as important as age in gauging a person’s likelihood of dying from the disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The higher the percentage of black residents in a county, the higher its death rate from COVID-19 — even after accounting for income, health insurance coverage, rates of diabetes and obesity, and public transit use, finds a new \u003ca href=\"http://ceepr.mit.edu/files/papers/2020-009.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">study\u003c/a> by researchers at the MIT Sloan School of Management. With those plausible explanations ruled out, “the causal mechanism has to be something else,” said applied economist Chris Knittel, the study’s senior author. “If I were a public official, I’d be looking at differences in the quality of insurance, conditions such as chronic stress, and systemic discrimination.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county-by-county analysis of COVID-19 death rates in the U.S. comes as more and more studies shift from the initial focus on individual-level factors that seem to increase people’s risk of dying to population-level ones, too, said experts in public health, demographics and infectious disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One reason for the new focus is that “we’re not learning much more beyond what’s been observed from the start of the pandemic: that sex, age, and preexisting conditions put you at greater risk of dying” from COVID-19, said Aaron Glatt, an infectious disease physician at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. In \u003ca href=\"https://globalhealth5050.org/covid19/sex-disaggregated-data-tracker/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">almost every country\u003c/a>, for instance, more men than women are dying of COVID-19, an imbalance that likely reflects both biology — women have stronger immune systems — and socialization: They seem to be following social distancing guidelines more than men, which could decrease the viral load they’re exposed to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also driving the shift in focus is that society-level influences are potentially more “actionable” than individual risk factors; you can’t change your blood type. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.31.20114991v1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">study\u003c/a> posted to the preprint site medRxiv this month reported that type O is associated with lower risk of respiratory failure from COVID-19 and type A with a higher risk, but the paper hasn’t been peer-reviewed and it’s not clear how much difference blood type might make. “I wouldn’t tell one patient, thank god you have type O, but another, start preparing your will because you’re type A,” Glatt said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To investigate population-level factors, MIT’s Knittel and graduate student Bora Ozaltun analyzed county-by-county mortality rates — the number of deaths from COVID-19 as a percentage of population, from April 4 to May 27. The mortality rate is more precise than the infection rate or the case fatality rate (the percent of diagnosed cases who die), which are imprecise because of inadequate testing. In contrast, although some COVID-19 deaths were incorrectly attributed to other causes, especially early in the U.S. outbreak, “deaths, sadly, are an absolute,” Knittel said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They then used standard statistical tools to tease out which factors are most strongly correlated with mortality rates. Race stood out. Nationwide, the average county-level death rate from COVID-19 is 12 per 100,000 people. Counties with a black population above 85% had a death rate up to 10 times higher. For every 10 percentage point increase in a county’s black population, its COVID-19 death rate roughly doubles, Knittel said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That meshes with other research. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00598?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">study\u003c/a> last month of 1,052 COVID-19 patients treated at Sutter Health hospitals in California, for instance, found that black patients had 2.7 times the odds of hospitalization as non-Hispanic white patients, indicating more severe disease. And an \u003ca href=\"https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1266/2020/04/HCPDS_Volume-19_No_1_20_covid19_RevealingUnequalBurden_HCPDSWorkingPaper_04212020-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">analysis\u003c/a> by scientists at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that the death rate in predominantly non-white areas is six times that in non-Hispanic white areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Black people are dying of COVID-19 at a rate more than twice our share of the population,” said Malika Fair, an emergency medicine physician in Washington, D.C., and senior director of health equity programs at the Association of American Medical Colleges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The MIT researchers’ key finding is that the underlying reasons for the link between race and death rate are not the usual suspects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Policymakers’ natural instinct is to think this correlation is because of income disparities, or having health insurance, or diabetes, obesity rates, smoking rates, or even use of public transit,” Knittel said. “It’s not. We controlled for all of those. The reason why [black people] face higher death rates is not because they have higher rates of uninsured, poverty, diabetes, or these other factors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Sutter study, too, adjusted for age, sex, comorbidities, and income; the higher hospitalization rate for black patients wasn’t explained by any of those.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That leaves other factors. “If I were a policymaker,” Knittel said, “I’d be looking at things like the systemic racism that affects the quality of insurance African Americans have and the quality of the health care they receive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People with Medicaid or high-deductible plans, for instance, are less likely to have a primary care physician; 34% of black people and 15% of white individuals are \u003ca href=\"https://www.kff.org/medicaid/state-indicator/rate-by-raceethnicity-3/?currentTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">covered by\u003c/a> Medicaid and therefore less likely than people with employer-sponsored insurance to have a regular physician.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People who didn’t have a relationship with a primary care provider were much less likely to get tested,” said Georges Benjamin, a physician and executive director of the American Public Health Association. “Testing sites were put in affluent communities, or required a car, and testing kits were in short supply. Any time there is a shortage of something, minorities are less likely to get it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without a primary care provider, black people who thought they were infected were also likely to be turned away from hospitals, Benjamin said. “Someone without a primary care doctor doesn’t get into the ER as fast as someone whose doctor calls ahead,” he said. “At what point were your symptoms severe enough that you got into the health care system?” For people of color, it was likely later, he suggests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Black patients presenting with fever and cough were less likely to receive a referral for a COVID-19 test,” Fair said. That delayed appropriate care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And once they do get into the system, \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2012.1400\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">research\u003c/a> has found, the quality of care black people receive for a variety of conditions, such as \u003ca href=\"https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199902253400806\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cardiovascular disease\u003c/a>, is likely to be lower. Racism “is apparent in how we treat patients,” Fair said. “We still see differences in the care [for many conditions] given to blacks and whites.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another possible factor in the high death rate among black Americans is the well-documented \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2020/06/09/systemic-racism-black-health-disparities/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">health effects\u003c/a>, including on the immune system, of chronic stress such as that caused by a lifetime of discrimination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the MIT study, the correlation between a county’s COVID-19 death rate and its proportion of black residents was stronger within any given state than between states. “That tells me that there are important state-level differences that drive these deaths,” Knittel said. “African Americans are more likely to live in states with poor health care systems.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Commuting via public transportation, relative to telecommuting, is also linked to a higher death rate. When public transit use is 20.6 percentage points higher in one county than another, its death rate is about tenfold higher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Driving to work was also linked to a higher death rate. Many people working at their place of employment rather than home were in public-facing and therefore risky occupations such as health care, grocery stores and public safety. “The correlation between death rate and driving to work suggests that just being at work, no matter how you get there, increases your risk of dying,” Knittel said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those positions are also filled disproportionately with people of color, likely contributing to the correlation between race and death rates. “Clearly, people who have jobs where they come into contact with others, from health care workers to bus drivers, are more likely to become infected,” the APHA’s Benjamin said. Although much about the pathology of the new coronavirus remains a mystery, the chance of becoming infected is partly a function of how much virus one is exposed to; the more infected people someone encounters, the higher that viral load can be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new population-level approach to understanding risk has prompted a rethinking of the role of conditions such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Obesity is a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3198075/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">marker of poverty\u003c/a> and therefore of access to high-quality health care,” said Nina Schwalbe of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. Although the physiological consequences of obesity, notably high rates of inflammation, might contribute to COVID-19 severity, “obesity is a signal for so many of the social determinants of health, and we have to ask what this signal is telling us about vulnerabilities,” Schwalbe said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That holds for Type 2 diabetes as well. An \u003ca href=\"https://www.journalofinfection.com/article/S0163-4453(20)30234-6/pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">analysis\u003c/a> of 13 separate studies found that the disease is associated with 3.7 times the risk of having severe COVID-19 or dying from it compared to not having any underlying illness. This, too, is a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4021012/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">disease of poverty\u003c/a>, which means those who have it are more likely to live in crowded homes where “social distancing” is impossible, more likely not to have a primary care physician, and more likely to have jobs that increase their exposure to infected people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Sutter and MIT studies cast doubt on whether individual risk factors are as important as social determinants of health in affecting someone’s chances of contracting severe and even fatal COVID-19. “It should cause us to ask a different set of questions about what puts you at risk of hospitalization or death,” Schwalbe said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More and more evidence is pointing to social determinants of risk, which puts the role of underlying health conditions in a new light. “Comorbidities are still used to blame people for how hard they are hit by COVID-19,” said Philip Alberti, senior director for health equity research at the AAMC. To reduce the U.S. death toll now that many states are seeing a new surge in cases, he said, “our response to this disease” must look beyond the strictly medical.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2020/06/15/whos-dying-of-covid19-look-to-social-factors-like-race/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">story\u003c/a> was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/\">STAT\u003c/a>, an online publication of Boston Globe Media that covers health, medicine, and scientific discovery.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1875,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 32
},
"modified": 1704847299,
"excerpt": "Researchers say differences in health insurance, conditions like chronic stress, and systemic discrimination are dictating who dies from the coronavirus.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "Researchers say differences in health insurance, conditions like chronic stress, and systemic discrimination are dictating who dies from the coronavirus.",
"title": "Who's Dying of COVID-19 May Be Determined Just as Much by Race as by Age | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Who's Dying of COVID-19 May Be Determined Just as Much by Race as by Age",
"datePublished": "2020-06-15T13:42:46-07:00",
"dateModified": "2024-01-09T16:41:39-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "whos-dying-of-covid-19-may-be-determined-just-as-much-by-race-as-by-age",
"status": "publish",
"nprByline": "Sharon Begley \u003cbr />STAT",
"sticky": false,
"source": "STAT",
"path": "/science/1965993/whos-dying-of-covid-19-may-be-determined-just-as-much-by-race-as-by-age",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"big-cap-wrap\">\u003cspan class=\"big-cap\">W\u003c/span>\u003c/span>hile early studies of who was dying of COVID-19 identified risks such as obesity and having diabetes, there is a growing realization that those initial conclusions might have been misleading, obscuring a more significant explanation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As researchers pull back their lens from individuals to population-level risk factors, they’re finding that, in the U.S., race may be as important as age in gauging a person’s likelihood of dying from the disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The higher the percentage of black residents in a county, the higher its death rate from COVID-19 — even after accounting for income, health insurance coverage, rates of diabetes and obesity, and public transit use, finds a new \u003ca href=\"http://ceepr.mit.edu/files/papers/2020-009.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">study\u003c/a> by researchers at the MIT Sloan School of Management. With those plausible explanations ruled out, “the causal mechanism has to be something else,” said applied economist Chris Knittel, the study’s senior author. “If I were a public official, I’d be looking at differences in the quality of insurance, conditions such as chronic stress, and systemic discrimination.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county-by-county analysis of COVID-19 death rates in the U.S. comes as more and more studies shift from the initial focus on individual-level factors that seem to increase people’s risk of dying to population-level ones, too, said experts in public health, demographics and infectious disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One reason for the new focus is that “we’re not learning much more beyond what’s been observed from the start of the pandemic: that sex, age, and preexisting conditions put you at greater risk of dying” from COVID-19, said Aaron Glatt, an infectious disease physician at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. In \u003ca href=\"https://globalhealth5050.org/covid19/sex-disaggregated-data-tracker/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">almost every country\u003c/a>, for instance, more men than women are dying of COVID-19, an imbalance that likely reflects both biology — women have stronger immune systems — and socialization: They seem to be following social distancing guidelines more than men, which could decrease the viral load they’re exposed to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also driving the shift in focus is that society-level influences are potentially more “actionable” than individual risk factors; you can’t change your blood type. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.31.20114991v1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">study\u003c/a> posted to the preprint site medRxiv this month reported that type O is associated with lower risk of respiratory failure from COVID-19 and type A with a higher risk, but the paper hasn’t been peer-reviewed and it’s not clear how much difference blood type might make. “I wouldn’t tell one patient, thank god you have type O, but another, start preparing your will because you’re type A,” Glatt said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To investigate population-level factors, MIT’s Knittel and graduate student Bora Ozaltun analyzed county-by-county mortality rates — the number of deaths from COVID-19 as a percentage of population, from April 4 to May 27. The mortality rate is more precise than the infection rate or the case fatality rate (the percent of diagnosed cases who die), which are imprecise because of inadequate testing. In contrast, although some COVID-19 deaths were incorrectly attributed to other causes, especially early in the U.S. outbreak, “deaths, sadly, are an absolute,” Knittel said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They then used standard statistical tools to tease out which factors are most strongly correlated with mortality rates. Race stood out. Nationwide, the average county-level death rate from COVID-19 is 12 per 100,000 people. Counties with a black population above 85% had a death rate up to 10 times higher. For every 10 percentage point increase in a county’s black population, its COVID-19 death rate roughly doubles, Knittel said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That meshes with other research. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00598?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">study\u003c/a> last month of 1,052 COVID-19 patients treated at Sutter Health hospitals in California, for instance, found that black patients had 2.7 times the odds of hospitalization as non-Hispanic white patients, indicating more severe disease. And an \u003ca href=\"https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1266/2020/04/HCPDS_Volume-19_No_1_20_covid19_RevealingUnequalBurden_HCPDSWorkingPaper_04212020-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">analysis\u003c/a> by scientists at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that the death rate in predominantly non-white areas is six times that in non-Hispanic white areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Black people are dying of COVID-19 at a rate more than twice our share of the population,” said Malika Fair, an emergency medicine physician in Washington, D.C., and senior director of health equity programs at the Association of American Medical Colleges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The MIT researchers’ key finding is that the underlying reasons for the link between race and death rate are not the usual suspects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Policymakers’ natural instinct is to think this correlation is because of income disparities, or having health insurance, or diabetes, obesity rates, smoking rates, or even use of public transit,” Knittel said. “It’s not. We controlled for all of those. The reason why [black people] face higher death rates is not because they have higher rates of uninsured, poverty, diabetes, or these other factors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Sutter study, too, adjusted for age, sex, comorbidities, and income; the higher hospitalization rate for black patients wasn’t explained by any of those.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That leaves other factors. “If I were a policymaker,” Knittel said, “I’d be looking at things like the systemic racism that affects the quality of insurance African Americans have and the quality of the health care they receive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People with Medicaid or high-deductible plans, for instance, are less likely to have a primary care physician; 34% of black people and 15% of white individuals are \u003ca href=\"https://www.kff.org/medicaid/state-indicator/rate-by-raceethnicity-3/?currentTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">covered by\u003c/a> Medicaid and therefore less likely than people with employer-sponsored insurance to have a regular physician.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People who didn’t have a relationship with a primary care provider were much less likely to get tested,” said Georges Benjamin, a physician and executive director of the American Public Health Association. “Testing sites were put in affluent communities, or required a car, and testing kits were in short supply. Any time there is a shortage of something, minorities are less likely to get it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without a primary care provider, black people who thought they were infected were also likely to be turned away from hospitals, Benjamin said. “Someone without a primary care doctor doesn’t get into the ER as fast as someone whose doctor calls ahead,” he said. “At what point were your symptoms severe enough that you got into the health care system?” For people of color, it was likely later, he suggests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Black patients presenting with fever and cough were less likely to receive a referral for a COVID-19 test,” Fair said. That delayed appropriate care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And once they do get into the system, \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2012.1400\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">research\u003c/a> has found, the quality of care black people receive for a variety of conditions, such as \u003ca href=\"https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199902253400806\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cardiovascular disease\u003c/a>, is likely to be lower. Racism “is apparent in how we treat patients,” Fair said. “We still see differences in the care [for many conditions] given to blacks and whites.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another possible factor in the high death rate among black Americans is the well-documented \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2020/06/09/systemic-racism-black-health-disparities/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">health effects\u003c/a>, including on the immune system, of chronic stress such as that caused by a lifetime of discrimination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the MIT study, the correlation between a county’s COVID-19 death rate and its proportion of black residents was stronger within any given state than between states. “That tells me that there are important state-level differences that drive these deaths,” Knittel said. “African Americans are more likely to live in states with poor health care systems.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Commuting via public transportation, relative to telecommuting, is also linked to a higher death rate. When public transit use is 20.6 percentage points higher in one county than another, its death rate is about tenfold higher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Driving to work was also linked to a higher death rate. Many people working at their place of employment rather than home were in public-facing and therefore risky occupations such as health care, grocery stores and public safety. “The correlation between death rate and driving to work suggests that just being at work, no matter how you get there, increases your risk of dying,” Knittel said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those positions are also filled disproportionately with people of color, likely contributing to the correlation between race and death rates. “Clearly, people who have jobs where they come into contact with others, from health care workers to bus drivers, are more likely to become infected,” the APHA’s Benjamin said. Although much about the pathology of the new coronavirus remains a mystery, the chance of becoming infected is partly a function of how much virus one is exposed to; the more infected people someone encounters, the higher that viral load can be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new population-level approach to understanding risk has prompted a rethinking of the role of conditions such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Obesity is a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3198075/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">marker of poverty\u003c/a> and therefore of access to high-quality health care,” said Nina Schwalbe of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. Although the physiological consequences of obesity, notably high rates of inflammation, might contribute to COVID-19 severity, “obesity is a signal for so many of the social determinants of health, and we have to ask what this signal is telling us about vulnerabilities,” Schwalbe said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That holds for Type 2 diabetes as well. An \u003ca href=\"https://www.journalofinfection.com/article/S0163-4453(20)30234-6/pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">analysis\u003c/a> of 13 separate studies found that the disease is associated with 3.7 times the risk of having severe COVID-19 or dying from it compared to not having any underlying illness. This, too, is a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4021012/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">disease of poverty\u003c/a>, which means those who have it are more likely to live in crowded homes where “social distancing” is impossible, more likely not to have a primary care physician, and more likely to have jobs that increase their exposure to infected people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Sutter and MIT studies cast doubt on whether individual risk factors are as important as social determinants of health in affecting someone’s chances of contracting severe and even fatal COVID-19. “It should cause us to ask a different set of questions about what puts you at risk of hospitalization or death,” Schwalbe said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More and more evidence is pointing to social determinants of risk, which puts the role of underlying health conditions in a new light. “Comorbidities are still used to blame people for how hard they are hit by COVID-19,” said Philip Alberti, senior director for health equity research at the AAMC. To reduce the U.S. death toll now that many states are seeing a new surge in cases, he said, “our response to this disease” must look beyond the strictly medical.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2020/06/15/whos-dying-of-covid19-look-to-social-factors-like-race/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">story\u003c/a> was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/\">STAT\u003c/a>, an online publication of Boston Globe Media that covers health, medicine, and scientific discovery.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/science/1965993/whos-dying-of-covid-19-may-be-determined-just-as-much-by-race-as-by-age",
"authors": [
"byline_science_1965993"
],
"categories": [
"science_39",
"science_3890",
"science_40",
"science_4450"
],
"tags": [
"science_4329",
"science_5181",
"science_3977"
],
"featImg": "science_1965995",
"label": "source_science_1965993"
},
"science_1964968": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "science_1964968",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1964968",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1591992956000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1591992956,
"format": "aside",
"title": "CHARTS: Here Are the Trendlines for COVID-19 Deaths and Hospitalizations in Each Bay Area County",
"headTitle": "CHARTS: Here Are the Trendlines for COVID-19 Deaths and Hospitalizations in Each Bay Area County | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>This post is no longer being updated. Please see the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://covid19.ca.gov/state-dashboard/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">COVID-19 data dashboard\u003c/a> for the latest statistics on cases, deaths and other metrics. The San Francisco Chronicle also maintains a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/coronavirus-map/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">coronavirus tracker\u003c/a> covering statistics for the Bay Area and the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 47,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 3
},
"modified": 1704847305,
"excerpt": "As policymakers calibrate and recalibrate what is allowed to open, they are looking closely at a suite of metrics.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "As policymakers calibrate and recalibrate what is allowed to open, they are looking closely at a suite of metrics.",
"title": "CHARTS: Here Are the Trendlines for COVID-19 Deaths and Hospitalizations in Each Bay Area County | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "CHARTS: Here Are the Trendlines for COVID-19 Deaths and Hospitalizations in Each Bay Area County",
"datePublished": "2020-06-12T13:15:56-07:00",
"dateModified": "2024-01-09T16:41:45-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "charts-the-bay-area-is-opening-up-again-heres-tracking-data-for-each-county-to-see-how-its-going",
"status": "publish",
"sticky": false,
"source": "Coronavirus",
"path": "/science/1964968/charts-the-bay-area-is-opening-up-again-heres-tracking-data-for-each-county-to-see-how-its-going",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>This post is no longer being updated. Please see the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://covid19.ca.gov/state-dashboard/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">COVID-19 data dashboard\u003c/a> for the latest statistics on cases, deaths and other metrics. The San Francisco Chronicle also maintains a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/coronavirus-map/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">coronavirus tracker\u003c/a> covering statistics for the Bay Area and the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/science/1964968/charts-the-bay-area-is-opening-up-again-heres-tracking-data-for-each-county-to-see-how-its-going",
"authors": [
"11501",
"80",
"199"
],
"categories": [
"science_39",
"science_3890",
"science_4450"
],
"tags": [
"science_4329",
"science_4414"
],
"featImg": "science_1972037",
"label": "source_science_1964968"
},
"science_1965816": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "science_1965816",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1965816",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1591901048000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1591901048,
"format": "standard",
"title": "For Black Youth, a Time of Upheaval Takes a Toll on Mental Health",
"headTitle": "For Black Youth, a Time of Upheaval Takes a Toll on Mental Health | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>From his room in Los Angeles, Cecil Hannibal worries about his grandmother getting COVID-19 every time she goes to the supermarket in Louisville, Kentucky. In northern Georgia, Visaysha Harris puts limits on her news consumption, to keep from “taking too much of it all in.” In Dallas, Ashley Otah makes sure to follow reminders on her mindfulness apps. In New Jersey, Zane Keyes unwinds by riding his bike. “Since George Floyd’s murder, I feel angry, frustrated, unheard,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These young people — three of them new college graduates — are feeling overwhelmed and discouraged during this moment of national upheaval. Most Americans report more anxiety and depression in response to the coronavirus pandemic — with nearly \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/pulse/mental-health.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">half of those ages 18 to 29\u003c/a> experiencing the highest rate of symptoms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align='right' citation='Ashley Otah, 22']‘When you’re growing up, you think you will go to school, get a good job. You follow this straight line. COVID pulled that rug from underneath us and that line isn’t there. There’s a heavy burden looming over a lot of us as we look for work. Now since the [Floyd] video, my heart just aches. Every time we see violence like this, you have this hope that this will be the last time, that this will be the last name. And then it’s not.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as African Americans, these four are navigating far more than a disrupted senior year and a collapsed job market: COVID-19 hit their communities especially hard, and then that was compounded by seemingly limitless videos of police brutalizing people who look like them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Black adults have been 10% to 26% more likely than white adults to report symptoms of psychological distress in a mental health survey conducted weekly since late April by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Census Bureau. In the week after Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police, 40.5% of black adults reported symptoms of anxiety or depression, compared with 33.1% of white people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet historically, African Americans are \u003ca href=\"https://www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=4&lvlid=24\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">half as likely\u003c/a> to receive either treatment or medication for their mental health, according to federal statistics. They are more likely to be uninsured and are often overlooked in \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4215700/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">research studies\u003c/a> of mental health. And since only a \u003ca href=\"https://www.mhanational.org/issues/black-african-american-communities-and-mental-health#8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">small fraction\u003c/a> of therapists are black, many who are struggling emotionally may be reluctant to seek care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are also cultural barriers, including a stigma about mental health issues, Victor Armstrong, director of mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse services at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, told STAT.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Rather than being able to express the pain, fear and anger, what we’re told when we’re young is that we should suck it up and be strong — our great-great grandparents survived slavery and our grandparents survived Jim Crow,” said Armstrong, a clinical social worker. “For those raised in the church, there is added pressure. We are told to look to God for strength rather than acknowledge we feel pain, hurt, and anger. Those messages have done a disservice to generations of black people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Otah, who just graduated from the University of Southern California, heard that message as she grew up. “Often black women will say, ‘I’m so tired.’ The comment just gets dismissed,” she said. “People are not taking into consideration that they are so tired because they are fighting a battle they shouldn’t have to be fighting. Black women are supposed to be strong. Black women are supposed to be fearless. We need a space where we can be open about our stories, our experiences.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jarell Myers, a psychologist at The Center for Motivation and Change in New York, said the trauma of racism passes from one generation to the next, leading to anxiety, depression, and PTSD that frequently goes undiagnosed and untreated. “Due to historical mistreatment of black people from the medical establishment, there is enormous mistrust toward it,” Myers said. “This results in the assumption that if you go to see a shrink, you’re crazy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here, in their own words, is how Hannibal, Harris, Keyes, and Otah are trying to cope with the stresses of a daily life that is anything but normal. Their comments have been edited for length and clarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1965821\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1965821 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/CecilInline.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/CecilInline.jpg 1000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/CecilInline-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/CecilInline-800x640.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/CecilInline-768x614.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cecil Hannibal\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cecil Hannibal, 23, is a 2020 graduate of USC. A native of Atlanta, he lives in Los Angeles.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In January it felt like the world was my oyster. I was interviewing for jobs right before COVID took over the U.S. Then the job market collapsed and I thought, “Oh my God, what am I going to do now?” I have student debt, and I had a lot on my mind. My mom is a hairdresser in Atlanta who couldn’t work because of COVID. I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to find work either. I’m more hopeful now. I’ve had some good job interviews.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My grandmother in Louisville was active in the civil rights movement and lived through so much. As a kid, I couldn’t understand her fear. I used to walk to the CVS near her house to get candy and AriZona tea. When Trayvon Martin was murdered, suddenly it hit me. Here was someone just a few years older than me, who looked like me, who got shot walking home from the store with Skittles and AriZona tea. I was sure that George Zimmerman would go to jail — he had murdered a child. But he was acquitted. That’s when it clicked that my life as a Black man was going to be different.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was told I had to be twice as good as my peers who were not black. And now that stands even for the way I dress. I don’t ever want to give anyone the reason that I’m not professional. I like wearing my hair, so if I’m going to wear my hair, I’m going to have a dress shirt and tie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My heart is broken now, but I’m optimistic. The world is out there protesting. I hope people are starting to grasp what it’s like to have systematic racism rule your life. I hope people will turn out to vote for the biggest election of my lifetime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Part of me wants to march, but my mom would have a heart attack. I’m being a social media activist. I want to be on the right side of this, but there are risks and I can’t put my family through that. If I get locked up, who’s going to bail me out? I don’t have family out here. I support the protests 100%, but I don’t feel comfortable going out and facing the police.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I come from a family that always looks on the bright side, that always says God will take care of us. But right now I feel a lot of stress, a lot of anxiety, and a lot of sadness for my community. We’ve had pain bottled up for so long, and it’s reached the surface.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1965818\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1965818 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/VisayshaInline.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/VisayshaInline.jpg 1000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/VisayshaInline-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/VisayshaInline-800x640.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/VisayshaInline-768x614.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visaysha Harris\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Visaysha Harris, 22, a 2020 graduate of Georgia State University, lives in Grayson, Georgia\u003c/strong>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was shocking to have to exit school, leave my apartment, and come back to my childhood bedroom to finish off my studies. I put the stuff from my college life in the garage. That part of my life was over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a hard transition not to be able to hang out with my friends or see my boyfriend. I was missing out on the motivation I get from going to class and listening to a lecture. The professors were trying to navigate online learning just like we were. Some of my lessons were just PowerPoints you had to scroll through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the first month I definitely felt depressed. I was just staying in my room, staying in my little twin bed, trying to get used to what the world was like. It was hard to even open a textbook.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But I pushed through, finished my classes online, finished up my internship online, had my graduation online. My family celebrated with me and got me a cake. In March I accepted a job in ad sales at NBC Universal that starts in July, and I was going to move to New York. But I’m going to be doing that from here now. I know I’ll get there eventually. I’m skeptical about the medical establishment. I’m not necessarily trusting of a vaccine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it comes to the violence, I can tell you I’m so disappointed. But the sad part is, this is our history. It’s typical for black men and women to get killed by the police.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s only so much pain you can feel about it. I want justice but I have to separate this from my own mental health and making sure I’m not taking too much of it all in. It’s hard to see the portrayals of what’s going on. I wish people could look past the fact that your Target got broken into, or the mall got smashed up. That’s property that can be replaced. The lives of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor cannot be replaced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1965819\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1965819\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/ZaneInline.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/ZaneInline.jpg 1000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/ZaneInline-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/ZaneInline-800x640.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/ZaneInline-768x614.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Zane Keyes\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Zane Keyes, 27, a 2016 graduate of Rutgers University, lives in Montclair, New Jersey. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier in the lockdown, I had an anxiety attack over finances. This last almost-year I made the most income that I’d ever made in my business as a barber, but I’ve got $40,000 in student debt. Then it took 62 days to get an unemployment check. I maxed out my credit card, and my mother was in a car accident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I felt this weight on my chest. I found myself breathing as much as I could, but it didn’t change anything. So I had a telemedicine conference with a doctor. She told me to stop looking so much on social media, and to check in with my therapist. I’ve seen one before, a black man who helped me with cognitive behavioral techniques for anxiety and depression.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since George Floyd’s murder, I feel angry, frustrated, unheard. I’m outraged that I have to speak until my lungs are sore and no matter how many times I try to verbalize it, white people try to tell me it’s not as bad as I think it is. You don’t know what it’s like to walk in my shoes. You’ve never been called the N-word with a hard e-r. My friends and I got harassed by the cops when we were 15 for taking alcohol to a house party. They put guns to the back of my friends’ heads and tried to make it look like we were drug dealers. You don’t forget that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When white boys get pulled over, they shake and tremble because they’re scared of what it’s going to do to their finances. When we get pulled over, we shake and tremble because we’re scared for our lives. The fear we feel is from past trauma. The fear we feel is from our elders’ pain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I marched at a peaceful protest in Newark. I was with a woman who was 80 years old, marching still. I was with a man who was 85 years old, marching still. It’s the same shit he was marching for when he was 17.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You think I want my future kids to have to grow up and do that one day, too? My godsons are 1 and 2. I’m full of fear, but I can’t be voiceless when they are babies. I can’t possibly not protect the unprotected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1965820\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1965820\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/AshleyInline.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/AshleyInline.jpg 1000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/AshleyInline-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/AshleyInline-800x640.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/AshleyInline-768x614.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ashley Otah\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ashley Otah, 22, a 2020 graduate of USC, lives in Dallas.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is an expectation given to you when you are young. You don’t have the luxury of being a kid who makes mistakes. There are always eyes watching and waiting and interjecting, and when you do falter there are heavy consequences your counterparts will not face. When you bring these to light you are penalized, ostracized, or ignored. You continue to do your best with what you have and just keep going. You want to enjoy life, but life continues to have hurdles and more hurdles and more hurdles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When you’re growing up, you think you will go to school, get a good job. You follow this straight line. COVID pulled that rug from underneath us and that line isn’t there. There’s a heavy burden looming over a lot of us as we look for work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now since the [Floyd] video, my heart just aches. Every time we see violence like this, you have this hope that this will be the last time, that this will be the last name. And then it’s not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I cannot go march because I’m immunocompromised. But there are other avenues to be helpful, to elevate and amplify the people around you. I try to combat statements that stigmatize mental health issues in our community, and I direct people to a site called Therapy for Black Girls and the Loveland Foundation, which aims to help black women and girls get free therapy sessions. I will most likely be seeing someone soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fact that it took a video for the whole world to see someone begging to be seen, someone begging to be seen as a human being, for people to say they get it, is difficult. They might say they get it, but they haven’t lived it. I’m hopeful, though. We can help shape the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2020/06/11/upheaval-takes-toll-on-black-youth-mental-health/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">story\u003c/a> was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/\">STAT\u003c/a>, an online publication of Boston Globe Media that covers health, medicine, and scientific discovery.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 2437,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 41
},
"modified": 1704847310,
"excerpt": "These four black Americans navigate disruption from COVID-19, an economic recession and a reckoning about police violence against people that look like them. ",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "These four black Americans navigate disruption from COVID-19, an economic recession and a reckoning about police violence against people that look like them. ",
"title": "For Black Youth, a Time of Upheaval Takes a Toll on Mental Health | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "For Black Youth, a Time of Upheaval Takes a Toll on Mental Health",
"datePublished": "2020-06-11T11:44:08-07:00",
"dateModified": "2024-01-09T16:41:50-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "black-youth-coronavirus-police-violence",
"status": "publish",
"nprByline": "Gabrielle Glaser \u003cbr />STAT\u003cbr>",
"sticky": false,
"source": "STAT",
"WpOldSlug": "black-youth-hit-hard-by-one-two-punch-of-coronavirus-police-violence",
"path": "/science/1965816/black-youth-coronavirus-police-violence",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>From his room in Los Angeles, Cecil Hannibal worries about his grandmother getting COVID-19 every time she goes to the supermarket in Louisville, Kentucky. In northern Georgia, Visaysha Harris puts limits on her news consumption, to keep from “taking too much of it all in.” In Dallas, Ashley Otah makes sure to follow reminders on her mindfulness apps. In New Jersey, Zane Keyes unwinds by riding his bike. “Since George Floyd’s murder, I feel angry, frustrated, unheard,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These young people — three of them new college graduates — are feeling overwhelmed and discouraged during this moment of national upheaval. Most Americans report more anxiety and depression in response to the coronavirus pandemic — with nearly \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/pulse/mental-health.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">half of those ages 18 to 29\u003c/a> experiencing the highest rate of symptoms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "‘When you’re growing up, you think you will go to school, get a good job. You follow this straight line. COVID pulled that rug from underneath us and that line isn’t there. There’s a heavy burden looming over a lot of us as we look for work. Now since the [Floyd] video, my heart just aches. Every time we see violence like this, you have this hope that this will be the last time, that this will be the last name. And then it’s not.’",
"name": "pullquote",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"align": "right",
"citation": "Ashley Otah, 22",
"label": ""
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as African Americans, these four are navigating far more than a disrupted senior year and a collapsed job market: COVID-19 hit their communities especially hard, and then that was compounded by seemingly limitless videos of police brutalizing people who look like them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Black adults have been 10% to 26% more likely than white adults to report symptoms of psychological distress in a mental health survey conducted weekly since late April by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Census Bureau. In the week after Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police, 40.5% of black adults reported symptoms of anxiety or depression, compared with 33.1% of white people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet historically, African Americans are \u003ca href=\"https://www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=4&lvlid=24\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">half as likely\u003c/a> to receive either treatment or medication for their mental health, according to federal statistics. They are more likely to be uninsured and are often overlooked in \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4215700/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">research studies\u003c/a> of mental health. And since only a \u003ca href=\"https://www.mhanational.org/issues/black-african-american-communities-and-mental-health#8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">small fraction\u003c/a> of therapists are black, many who are struggling emotionally may be reluctant to seek care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are also cultural barriers, including a stigma about mental health issues, Victor Armstrong, director of mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse services at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, told STAT.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Rather than being able to express the pain, fear and anger, what we’re told when we’re young is that we should suck it up and be strong — our great-great grandparents survived slavery and our grandparents survived Jim Crow,” said Armstrong, a clinical social worker. “For those raised in the church, there is added pressure. We are told to look to God for strength rather than acknowledge we feel pain, hurt, and anger. Those messages have done a disservice to generations of black people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Otah, who just graduated from the University of Southern California, heard that message as she grew up. “Often black women will say, ‘I’m so tired.’ The comment just gets dismissed,” she said. “People are not taking into consideration that they are so tired because they are fighting a battle they shouldn’t have to be fighting. Black women are supposed to be strong. Black women are supposed to be fearless. We need a space where we can be open about our stories, our experiences.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jarell Myers, a psychologist at The Center for Motivation and Change in New York, said the trauma of racism passes from one generation to the next, leading to anxiety, depression, and PTSD that frequently goes undiagnosed and untreated. “Due to historical mistreatment of black people from the medical establishment, there is enormous mistrust toward it,” Myers said. “This results in the assumption that if you go to see a shrink, you’re crazy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here, in their own words, is how Hannibal, Harris, Keyes, and Otah are trying to cope with the stresses of a daily life that is anything but normal. Their comments have been edited for length and clarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1965821\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1965821 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/CecilInline.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/CecilInline.jpg 1000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/CecilInline-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/CecilInline-800x640.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/CecilInline-768x614.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cecil Hannibal\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cecil Hannibal, 23, is a 2020 graduate of USC. A native of Atlanta, he lives in Los Angeles.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In January it felt like the world was my oyster. I was interviewing for jobs right before COVID took over the U.S. Then the job market collapsed and I thought, “Oh my God, what am I going to do now?” I have student debt, and I had a lot on my mind. My mom is a hairdresser in Atlanta who couldn’t work because of COVID. I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to find work either. I’m more hopeful now. I’ve had some good job interviews.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My grandmother in Louisville was active in the civil rights movement and lived through so much. As a kid, I couldn’t understand her fear. I used to walk to the CVS near her house to get candy and AriZona tea. When Trayvon Martin was murdered, suddenly it hit me. Here was someone just a few years older than me, who looked like me, who got shot walking home from the store with Skittles and AriZona tea. I was sure that George Zimmerman would go to jail — he had murdered a child. But he was acquitted. That’s when it clicked that my life as a Black man was going to be different.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was told I had to be twice as good as my peers who were not black. And now that stands even for the way I dress. I don’t ever want to give anyone the reason that I’m not professional. I like wearing my hair, so if I’m going to wear my hair, I’m going to have a dress shirt and tie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My heart is broken now, but I’m optimistic. The world is out there protesting. I hope people are starting to grasp what it’s like to have systematic racism rule your life. I hope people will turn out to vote for the biggest election of my lifetime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Part of me wants to march, but my mom would have a heart attack. I’m being a social media activist. I want to be on the right side of this, but there are risks and I can’t put my family through that. If I get locked up, who’s going to bail me out? I don’t have family out here. I support the protests 100%, but I don’t feel comfortable going out and facing the police.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I come from a family that always looks on the bright side, that always says God will take care of us. But right now I feel a lot of stress, a lot of anxiety, and a lot of sadness for my community. We’ve had pain bottled up for so long, and it’s reached the surface.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1965818\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1965818 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/VisayshaInline.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/VisayshaInline.jpg 1000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/VisayshaInline-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/VisayshaInline-800x640.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/VisayshaInline-768x614.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visaysha Harris\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Visaysha Harris, 22, a 2020 graduate of Georgia State University, lives in Grayson, Georgia\u003c/strong>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was shocking to have to exit school, leave my apartment, and come back to my childhood bedroom to finish off my studies. I put the stuff from my college life in the garage. That part of my life was over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a hard transition not to be able to hang out with my friends or see my boyfriend. I was missing out on the motivation I get from going to class and listening to a lecture. The professors were trying to navigate online learning just like we were. Some of my lessons were just PowerPoints you had to scroll through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the first month I definitely felt depressed. I was just staying in my room, staying in my little twin bed, trying to get used to what the world was like. It was hard to even open a textbook.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But I pushed through, finished my classes online, finished up my internship online, had my graduation online. My family celebrated with me and got me a cake. In March I accepted a job in ad sales at NBC Universal that starts in July, and I was going to move to New York. But I’m going to be doing that from here now. I know I’ll get there eventually. I’m skeptical about the medical establishment. I’m not necessarily trusting of a vaccine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it comes to the violence, I can tell you I’m so disappointed. But the sad part is, this is our history. It’s typical for black men and women to get killed by the police.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s only so much pain you can feel about it. I want justice but I have to separate this from my own mental health and making sure I’m not taking too much of it all in. It’s hard to see the portrayals of what’s going on. I wish people could look past the fact that your Target got broken into, or the mall got smashed up. That’s property that can be replaced. The lives of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor cannot be replaced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1965819\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1965819\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/ZaneInline.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/ZaneInline.jpg 1000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/ZaneInline-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/ZaneInline-800x640.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/ZaneInline-768x614.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Zane Keyes\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Zane Keyes, 27, a 2016 graduate of Rutgers University, lives in Montclair, New Jersey. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier in the lockdown, I had an anxiety attack over finances. This last almost-year I made the most income that I’d ever made in my business as a barber, but I’ve got $40,000 in student debt. Then it took 62 days to get an unemployment check. I maxed out my credit card, and my mother was in a car accident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I felt this weight on my chest. I found myself breathing as much as I could, but it didn’t change anything. So I had a telemedicine conference with a doctor. She told me to stop looking so much on social media, and to check in with my therapist. I’ve seen one before, a black man who helped me with cognitive behavioral techniques for anxiety and depression.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since George Floyd’s murder, I feel angry, frustrated, unheard. I’m outraged that I have to speak until my lungs are sore and no matter how many times I try to verbalize it, white people try to tell me it’s not as bad as I think it is. You don’t know what it’s like to walk in my shoes. You’ve never been called the N-word with a hard e-r. My friends and I got harassed by the cops when we were 15 for taking alcohol to a house party. They put guns to the back of my friends’ heads and tried to make it look like we were drug dealers. You don’t forget that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When white boys get pulled over, they shake and tremble because they’re scared of what it’s going to do to their finances. When we get pulled over, we shake and tremble because we’re scared for our lives. The fear we feel is from past trauma. The fear we feel is from our elders’ pain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I marched at a peaceful protest in Newark. I was with a woman who was 80 years old, marching still. I was with a man who was 85 years old, marching still. It’s the same shit he was marching for when he was 17.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You think I want my future kids to have to grow up and do that one day, too? My godsons are 1 and 2. I’m full of fear, but I can’t be voiceless when they are babies. I can’t possibly not protect the unprotected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1965820\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1965820\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/AshleyInline.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/AshleyInline.jpg 1000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/AshleyInline-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/AshleyInline-800x640.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/AshleyInline-768x614.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ashley Otah\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ashley Otah, 22, a 2020 graduate of USC, lives in Dallas.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is an expectation given to you when you are young. You don’t have the luxury of being a kid who makes mistakes. There are always eyes watching and waiting and interjecting, and when you do falter there are heavy consequences your counterparts will not face. When you bring these to light you are penalized, ostracized, or ignored. You continue to do your best with what you have and just keep going. You want to enjoy life, but life continues to have hurdles and more hurdles and more hurdles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When you’re growing up, you think you will go to school, get a good job. You follow this straight line. COVID pulled that rug from underneath us and that line isn’t there. There’s a heavy burden looming over a lot of us as we look for work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now since the [Floyd] video, my heart just aches. Every time we see violence like this, you have this hope that this will be the last time, that this will be the last name. And then it’s not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I cannot go march because I’m immunocompromised. But there are other avenues to be helpful, to elevate and amplify the people around you. I try to combat statements that stigmatize mental health issues in our community, and I direct people to a site called Therapy for Black Girls and the Loveland Foundation, which aims to help black women and girls get free therapy sessions. I will most likely be seeing someone soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fact that it took a video for the whole world to see someone begging to be seen, someone begging to be seen as a human being, for people to say they get it, is difficult. They might say they get it, but they haven’t lived it. I’m hopeful, though. We can help shape the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2020/06/11/upheaval-takes-toll-on-black-youth-mental-health/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">story\u003c/a> was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/\">STAT\u003c/a>, an online publication of Boston Globe Media that covers health, medicine, and scientific discovery.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/science/1965816/black-youth-coronavirus-police-violence",
"authors": [
"byline_science_1965816"
],
"categories": [
"science_39",
"science_3890",
"science_40",
"science_4450"
],
"tags": [
"science_4329"
],
"featImg": "science_1965822",
"label": "source_science_1965816"
},
"science_1965744": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "science_1965744",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1965744",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1591810586000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1591810586,
"format": "aside",
"title": "Drugmaker Aims to Develop Coronavirus Vaccine in a Year for a Process That Usually Takes a Decade",
"headTitle": "Drugmaker Aims to Develop Coronavirus Vaccine in a Year for a Process That Usually Takes a Decade | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Once upon a time, developing a new vaccine was a step-by-step process that went from concept, to design, to tests in humans, to regulatory approval, to manufacturing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a process that could take a decade or more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1965745\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1965745\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/large-tanks-bayview_o7a4642_custom-9599af93f291dcb4d798877c7bcf1afa716817d1-800x1069.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1069\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/large-tanks-bayview_o7a4642_custom-9599af93f291dcb4d798877c7bcf1afa716817d1-800x1069.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/large-tanks-bayview_o7a4642_custom-9599af93f291dcb4d798877c7bcf1afa716817d1-160x214.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/large-tanks-bayview_o7a4642_custom-9599af93f291dcb4d798877c7bcf1afa716817d1-768x1026.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/large-tanks-bayview_o7a4642_custom-9599af93f291dcb4d798877c7bcf1afa716817d1-1020x1363.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/large-tanks-bayview_o7a4642_custom-9599af93f291dcb4d798877c7bcf1afa716817d1-1920x2566.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/large-tanks-bayview_o7a4642_custom-9599af93f291dcb4d798877c7bcf1afa716817d1.jpg 1998w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cell culture operators prepare a 2000-liter single-use bioreactor to produce proteins used to make vaccines. \u003ccite>(Philip Taciak/Emergent Biosolutions)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But the urgent need for a COVID-19 vaccine has radically changed all that. Now, the hope is the entire process can be completed in a year or less.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A good example of the new paradigm is a vaccine being developed by \u003ca href=\"https://novavax.com/\">Novavax\u003c/a>. It’s what’s called a protein subunit vaccine. The proteins are encased in a nanoparticle that gets injected into a person, along with a generalized immune stimulant known as an adjuvant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a lot of confidence based on what we’ve see so far based on our animal modeling that the vaccine will work,” says \u003ca href=\"https://novavax.com/page/53/gregory-m-glenn-m-d.html\">Gregory Glenn\u003c/a>, president of research and development at Novavax.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Positive results with animal testing doesn’t always translate to successful results in people, so, typically, Glenn would be waiting to see the results of the human testing that has just begun before making any big decisions about manufacturing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he won’t be waiting this time. A lot of steps that used to come one after another are taking place concurrently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of the most dramatic things we’re doing in parallel is to assume the vaccine is going to work, so we scale it up now,” Glenn says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s called at-risk manufacturing and scaling up means being able to produce the hundreds of millions of doses or more that will be needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Novavax is in the vaccine development business. It doesn’t have the ability to manufacture those hundreds of millions of doses. So the company has turned to \u003ca href=\"https://www.emergentbiosolutions.com/about-us\">Emergent Biosolutions\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://investors.emergentbiosolutions.com/management/sean-kirk\">Sean Kirk\u003c/a>, executive vice president of manufacturing and technical operations for Emergent Biosolutions, recently took me on a virtual tour of the company’s advance manufacturing facility in Baltimore, Maryland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His phone camera shows Kirk standing with some colleagues in a corridor next to a large glass window. On the other side of the glass is a room where the Novavax vaccine is being made.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What you’re looking at right here is one step in a multiple step process,” Kirk tells me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He points his cellphone camera into the room. I can see several stainless steel pieces of equipment, each about the size of a commercial refrigerator.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The vaccine is actually generated by living cells called a tissue culture that are grown inside a large plastic bag.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can see the bag sticking out the top. Can you see it?” Kirk asks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Technicians inside the room are loading the bag into a 50-liter vessel that is part of what’s called a bioreactor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Around the outside of this is the vessel itself that provides the heating, the cooling, and with the inserted agitators, the mixing,” Kirk explains. “From here we grow the culture and we transfer it to a larger bioreactor, thousand-liter, two thousand-liter, four thousand-liter to be able to expand up the volume and get the yields that we need to successfully produce the doses.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All of this has to be done to strict Food and Drug Administration standards known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.fda.gov/drugs/pharmaceutical-quality-resources/facts-about-current-good-manufacturing-practices-cgmps\">Current Good Manufacturing Practices.\u003c/a> The process can be finicky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a challenging task, but Kirk says he and his team is up to it. That confidence may be because the company they work for was created specifically to deal with public health crises.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Emergent Biosolutions has been around for a little over 20 years,” says \u003ca href=\"https://investors.emergentbiosolutions.com/management/robert-kramer\">Bob Kramer\u003c/a>, president and CEO.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company specializes in dealing with public health issues and dangerous substances. It makes vaccines for anthrax, smallpox, typhoid and cholera.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kramer says in 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services asked Emergent to build for them a special kind of facility, “where they could bring new technology into that facility and be able to quickly scale up and manufacture large volumes of vaccines for whatever emerging infectious disease we were presented with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That facility is where the Novavax vaccine is being manufactured. The company also has agreements to manufacture a vaccine being developed by \u003ca href=\"https://vaxart.com/\">Vaxart\u003c/a> and another by \u003ca href=\"https://www.jnj.com/johnson-johnson-announces-a-lead-vaccine-candidate-for-covid-19-landmark-new-partnership-with-u-s-department-of-health-human-services-and-commitment-to-supply-one-billion-vaccines-worldwide-for-emergency-pandemic-use\">Johnson and Johnson\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On June 1, the government announced it was providing Emergent with an additional $628 million to make and package vaccines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kramer says his company has a robust manufacturing capacity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We already have the capability to produce hundreds of millions of doses in our existing infrastructure,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But all that infrastructure and all the money that’s being spent to expand it will be for naught if the vaccines don’t work. It’s a gamble health officials say the country has to make.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Vaccine+Makers+Hedge+Bets+On+Which+One+Will+Emerge+As+Effective+And+Safe&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 857,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 30
},
"modified": 1704847315,
"excerpt": "To speed vaccine production from years to months, companies must start making a vaccine in large quantities even before it's clear it will work.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "To speed vaccine production from years to months, companies must start making a vaccine in large quantities even before it's clear it will work.",
"title": "Drugmaker Aims to Develop Coronavirus Vaccine in a Year for a Process That Usually Takes a Decade | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Drugmaker Aims to Develop Coronavirus Vaccine in a Year for a Process That Usually Takes a Decade",
"datePublished": "2020-06-10T10:36:26-07:00",
"dateModified": "2024-01-09T16:41:55-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "drugmaker-aims-to-develop-coronavirus-vaccine-in-a-year-for-process-that-usually-takes-a-decade",
"status": "publish",
"nprApiLink": "http://api.npr.org/query?id=872422140&apiKey=MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004",
"nprStoryDate": "Wed, 10 Jun 2020 05:01:00 -0400",
"nprLastModifiedDate": "Wed, 10 Jun 2020 06:32:23 -0400",
"nprHtmlLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/06/10/872422140/vaccine-makers-hedge-bets-on-which-one-will-emerge-as-effective-and-safe?ft=nprml&f=872422140",
"nprAudio": "https://ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/me/2020/06/20200610_me_vaccine_makers_hedge_bets_on_which_one_will_emerge_as_effective_and_safe.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1007&aggIds=812054919&d=275&p=3&story=872422140&ft=nprml&f=872422140",
"nprImageAgency": "Emergent Biosolutions",
"source": "NPR",
"nprAudioM3u": "http://api.npr.org/m3u/1873624576-140e00.m3u?orgId=1&topicId=1007&aggIds=812054919&d=275&p=3&story=872422140&ft=nprml&f=872422140",
"nprStoryId": "872422140",
"nprByline": "Joe Palca \u003cbr />NPR\u003cbr>",
"sticky": false,
"nprImageCredit": "Philip Taciak",
"nprRetrievedStory": "1",
"nprPubDate": "Wed, 10 Jun 2020 09:29:00 -0400",
"path": "/science/1965744/drugmaker-aims-to-develop-coronavirus-vaccine-in-a-year-for-process-that-usually-takes-a-decade",
"audioUrl": "https://ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/me/2020/06/20200610_me_vaccine_makers_hedge_bets_on_which_one_will_emerge_as_effective_and_safe.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1007&aggIds=812054919&d=275&p=3&story=872422140&ft=nprml&f=872422140",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Once upon a time, developing a new vaccine was a step-by-step process that went from concept, to design, to tests in humans, to regulatory approval, to manufacturing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a process that could take a decade or more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1965745\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1965745\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/large-tanks-bayview_o7a4642_custom-9599af93f291dcb4d798877c7bcf1afa716817d1-800x1069.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1069\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/large-tanks-bayview_o7a4642_custom-9599af93f291dcb4d798877c7bcf1afa716817d1-800x1069.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/large-tanks-bayview_o7a4642_custom-9599af93f291dcb4d798877c7bcf1afa716817d1-160x214.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/large-tanks-bayview_o7a4642_custom-9599af93f291dcb4d798877c7bcf1afa716817d1-768x1026.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/large-tanks-bayview_o7a4642_custom-9599af93f291dcb4d798877c7bcf1afa716817d1-1020x1363.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/large-tanks-bayview_o7a4642_custom-9599af93f291dcb4d798877c7bcf1afa716817d1-1920x2566.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/large-tanks-bayview_o7a4642_custom-9599af93f291dcb4d798877c7bcf1afa716817d1.jpg 1998w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cell culture operators prepare a 2000-liter single-use bioreactor to produce proteins used to make vaccines. \u003ccite>(Philip Taciak/Emergent Biosolutions)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But the urgent need for a COVID-19 vaccine has radically changed all that. Now, the hope is the entire process can be completed in a year or less.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A good example of the new paradigm is a vaccine being developed by \u003ca href=\"https://novavax.com/\">Novavax\u003c/a>. It’s what’s called a protein subunit vaccine. The proteins are encased in a nanoparticle that gets injected into a person, along with a generalized immune stimulant known as an adjuvant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a lot of confidence based on what we’ve see so far based on our animal modeling that the vaccine will work,” says \u003ca href=\"https://novavax.com/page/53/gregory-m-glenn-m-d.html\">Gregory Glenn\u003c/a>, president of research and development at Novavax.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Positive results with animal testing doesn’t always translate to successful results in people, so, typically, Glenn would be waiting to see the results of the human testing that has just begun before making any big decisions about manufacturing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he won’t be waiting this time. A lot of steps that used to come one after another are taking place concurrently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of the most dramatic things we’re doing in parallel is to assume the vaccine is going to work, so we scale it up now,” Glenn says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s called at-risk manufacturing and scaling up means being able to produce the hundreds of millions of doses or more that will be needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Novavax is in the vaccine development business. It doesn’t have the ability to manufacture those hundreds of millions of doses. So the company has turned to \u003ca href=\"https://www.emergentbiosolutions.com/about-us\">Emergent Biosolutions\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://investors.emergentbiosolutions.com/management/sean-kirk\">Sean Kirk\u003c/a>, executive vice president of manufacturing and technical operations for Emergent Biosolutions, recently took me on a virtual tour of the company’s advance manufacturing facility in Baltimore, Maryland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His phone camera shows Kirk standing with some colleagues in a corridor next to a large glass window. On the other side of the glass is a room where the Novavax vaccine is being made.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What you’re looking at right here is one step in a multiple step process,” Kirk tells me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He points his cellphone camera into the room. I can see several stainless steel pieces of equipment, each about the size of a commercial refrigerator.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The vaccine is actually generated by living cells called a tissue culture that are grown inside a large plastic bag.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can see the bag sticking out the top. Can you see it?” Kirk asks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Technicians inside the room are loading the bag into a 50-liter vessel that is part of what’s called a bioreactor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Around the outside of this is the vessel itself that provides the heating, the cooling, and with the inserted agitators, the mixing,” Kirk explains. “From here we grow the culture and we transfer it to a larger bioreactor, thousand-liter, two thousand-liter, four thousand-liter to be able to expand up the volume and get the yields that we need to successfully produce the doses.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All of this has to be done to strict Food and Drug Administration standards known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.fda.gov/drugs/pharmaceutical-quality-resources/facts-about-current-good-manufacturing-practices-cgmps\">Current Good Manufacturing Practices.\u003c/a> The process can be finicky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a challenging task, but Kirk says he and his team is up to it. That confidence may be because the company they work for was created specifically to deal with public health crises.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Emergent Biosolutions has been around for a little over 20 years,” says \u003ca href=\"https://investors.emergentbiosolutions.com/management/robert-kramer\">Bob Kramer\u003c/a>, president and CEO.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company specializes in dealing with public health issues and dangerous substances. It makes vaccines for anthrax, smallpox, typhoid and cholera.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kramer says in 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services asked Emergent to build for them a special kind of facility, “where they could bring new technology into that facility and be able to quickly scale up and manufacture large volumes of vaccines for whatever emerging infectious disease we were presented with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That facility is where the Novavax vaccine is being manufactured. The company also has agreements to manufacture a vaccine being developed by \u003ca href=\"https://vaxart.com/\">Vaxart\u003c/a> and another by \u003ca href=\"https://www.jnj.com/johnson-johnson-announces-a-lead-vaccine-candidate-for-covid-19-landmark-new-partnership-with-u-s-department-of-health-human-services-and-commitment-to-supply-one-billion-vaccines-worldwide-for-emergency-pandemic-use\">Johnson and Johnson\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On June 1, the government announced it was providing Emergent with an additional $628 million to make and package vaccines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kramer says his company has a robust manufacturing capacity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We already have the capability to produce hundreds of millions of doses in our existing infrastructure,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But all that infrastructure and all the money that’s being spent to expand it will be for naught if the vaccines don’t work. It’s a gamble health officials say the country has to make.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Vaccine+Makers+Hedge+Bets+On+Which+One+Will+Emerge+As+Effective+And+Safe&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/science/1965744/drugmaker-aims-to-develop-coronavirus-vaccine-in-a-year-for-process-that-usually-takes-a-decade",
"authors": [
"byline_science_1965744"
],
"categories": [
"science_39",
"science_3890",
"science_40",
"science_4450"
],
"tags": [
"science_4329",
"science_5181"
],
"featImg": "science_1965745",
"label": "source_science_1965744"
},
"science_1965688": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "science_1965688",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1965688",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1591772498000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1591772498,
"format": "audio",
"title": "Tear Gas, Pollution, Wildfire Smoke: A Triple Threat to Your Lungs",
"headTitle": "Tear Gas, Pollution, Wildfire Smoke: A Triple Threat to Your Lungs | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>eron McGrew stayed home during the past two weeks while others in her hometown of Oakland were protesting systemic racism and police killings of black people. Like many of her neighbors, McGrew has asthma and, because of her breathing difficulties, she feared being exposed to COVID-19 and to tear gas used by police. She also feared police brutality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new coronavirus is taking a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11813696/latinos-around-the-bay-area-are-disproportionately-affected-by-covid-19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">particularly cruel toll\u003c/a> in minority communities, with black Americans \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/20/black-americans-death-rate-covid-19-coronavirus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">far more likely to die\u003c/a> from COVID-19 than white Americans. One of the inequities driving the high numbers of deaths is damage and disease to lungs caused by years spent breathing polluted air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote citation='Teron McGrew, Oakland']I’m an African American and I need to be in the protests against systemic racism, but I made a choice for my life.’[/pullquote]Lung health is a critical weapon in the fight to reduce deaths during the pandemic. Yet police have been firing chemicals at protesters that can damage lung cells. American soldiers exposed to tear gas in sealed chambers during annual combat training were shown in a \u003ca href=\"https://academic.oup.com/milmed/article/179/7/793/4259353\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2014 study\u003c/a> to be substantially more likely to contract acute respiratory infections afterward, prompting the Army to issue new rules that \u003ca href=\"https://benthamopen.com/ABSTRACT/TOEPIJ-7-37\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">limit their exposure\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The respiratory onslaught precedes a wildfire season that further threatens to weaken immune protections against respiratory diseases such as COVID-19 and influenza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m an African American and I need to be in the protests against systemic racism, but I made a choice for my life,” said McGrew, a resident of North Oakland who works on issues of community and housing development. “I made a choice but people who are dying from COVID-19 and asthma and pollution, they don’t have a choice. They’re dying because of the inequalities and the systemic racism.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pollution from fossil fuels is also warming the planet and the region, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1941376/we-can-make-california-wildfires-less-horrific-will-we\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">leading to larger wildfires\u003c/a> and more of their harmful smoke. As the coronavirus infects new victims, California is heading into a hot, dry wildfire season. Wildfire smoke can blanket forest and foothill communities and choke far-away cities with particles that penetrate lungs and weaken immune responses to infections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1965803\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 548px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Teron-McGrew.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-1965803\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Teron-McGrew-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A woman with coffee skin and black hair, wearing a white sweater, sits at a desk in front of two laptops. This is Teron McGrew at her home office in North Oakland. Rows of books, with books stacked on top of them, fill her bookshelf.\" width=\"548\" height=\"365\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Teron-McGrew-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Teron-McGrew-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Teron-McGrew-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Teron-McGrew-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Teron-McGrew.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 548px) 100vw, 548px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teron McGrew works in her home office in North Oakland. \u003ccite>(Candase Chambers/Climate Central)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The one-two punch of tear gas and wildfire smoke, coupled with ever-present air pollution from fossil fuels, is set to worsen suffering related to the coronavirus this year, with people of color living in polluted areas continuing to feel the worst effects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Epidemiologists, geographers and other researchers have been learning in recent years that wildfire smoke poses a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1929784/breathing-fire-californias-central-valley-bears-the-brunt-of-harmful-wildfire-smoke\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">greater public health risk\u003c/a> than previously realized. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412019326935\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">new study\u003c/a> from Montana shows exposure to “smoke waves” — multiple-day bouts of heavy smoke — led to a substantial increase in influenza cases the following winter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The literature shows that people who are exposed to air pollution during wildfires are more likely to get respiratory infections, and I would classify COVID-19 as a respiratory infection,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.colorado.edu/geography/colleen-reid-0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Colleen Reid\u003c/a>, a geographer at the University of Colorado, Boulder, whose research interests include health impacts from wildfire smoke. “It could lead to more severe cases or even more cases that are noticed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>First Wildfire Smoke, Then Flu\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>To test the relationship between wildfire smoke and influenza, \u003ca href=\"https://health.umt.edu/publichealth/faculty/core-faculty.php?s=Landguth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Erin Landguth\u003c/a>, an associate professor at the University of Montana, led a study that \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412019326935\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">examined health and smoke wave data\u003c/a> over a decade from Montana. The study was published this month in the scientific journal \u003ca href=\"https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environment-international\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Environment International\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Landguth’s team looked for impacts on flu cases within one to four weeks of a smoke wave, and they didn’t find a significant effect during that period. What has stunned experts were impacts on influenza cases detected months later, during the following winter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/2017WildfireAirQuality_en_title_lg.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-1965730\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/2017WildfireAirQuality_en_title_lg-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"394\" height=\"222\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/2017WildfireAirQuality_en_title_lg-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/2017WildfireAirQuality_en_title_lg-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/2017WildfireAirQuality_en_title_lg-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/2017WildfireAirQuality_en_title_lg-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/2017WildfireAirQuality_en_title_lg.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 394px) 100vw, 394px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We thought there would be no way we’d see this long of a delay,” Landguth said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Based on their analysis, the researchers concluded the epic 2017 wildfire season in Big Sky Country caused influenza cases that winter to at least double and possibly rise as much as fivefold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Influenza kills tens of thousands of Americans every year, and the findings also have worrying implications for COVID-19 and other respiratory infections. Landguth is now gathering data from all Western states to expand the influenza research, and is also starting to investigate relationships between smoke waves and COVID-19 infections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ph.ucla.edu/faculty/jerrett\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Jerrett\u003c/a>, a professor at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health, is among the scientists racing to understand relationships between various types of air pollution and COVID-19 as the disease continues to spread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have to be cautious in interpreting what we’re finding, but I think what we’re seeing in a series of very rapidly developing studies is evidence that air pollution does make people more susceptible to COVID,” Jerret said. “The wildfires are likely to exacerbate the existing symptoms.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>More Smoke in California’s Future\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The hazards are intensifying as warming temperatures, worsening droughts, overgrown forest understories, urban development and other changes intensify wildfire seasons, putting more smoke into the air and more smoke particles into lungs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Led by scientists at Yale and Harvard, researchers several years ago used models of fire and winds to \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28642628/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">project smokier futures\u003c/a> for Western counties as temperatures rise. Across the Bay Area, the density of smoke particles suspended in the air during an average smoke wave is projected to nearly double by 2050, compared with levels during the late aughts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/smoke-wave-intensity.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1965720\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/smoke-wave-intensity.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/smoke-wave-intensity.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/smoke-wave-intensity-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/smoke-wave-intensity-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/smoke-wave-intensity-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/smoke-wave-intensity-1020x574.jpg 1020w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.predictiveservices.nifc.gov/outlooks/monthly_seasonal_outlook.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wildfire outlook\u003c/a> published by federal agencies on June 1 shows above normal potential for blazes across most of Northern California through September. Snowpacks are melting early in the warm spring temperatures, and hot and dry conditions are expected to persist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ingredient of greatest concern in smoke is PM2.5, the name given to the finest of particulate matter — particles so small they can lodge deep in lungs, and are sometimes so small they can enter the bloodstream. Smoke also affects levels of ozone pollution and it can contain toxic byproducts from incinerated plastics and paint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once inhaled, PM2.5 particles operate at a microscopic level to inflame and injure lung cells, providing the coronavirus and other pathogens with a boost as they work to overcome their victim’s immune system. The smoke also adds to risks of heart attack and a long list of other common and sometimes deadly maladies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tiny particulate matter isn’t just produced during wildfires — it’s present in pollution released by vehicle exhausts, power plants, refineries, farms and wood stoves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Research is \u003ca href=\"https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/air-pollution-linked-with-higher-covid-19-death-rates/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">underway at Harvard\u003c/a> and elsewhere examining whether exposure to tiny particulate matter from fossil fuel pollution increases the risk of death from COVID-19. If so, this would raise the already elevated coronavirus threats faced by communities of color, which are frequently located in less costly areas that are heavily polluted, including those along highways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Poor black and brown communities, especially, are at higher risk of dying from COVID, and they’re at higher risk because of a lot of things — one related to chronic inflammation from having faced chronic trauma and exposure, chronic air pollution, et cetera,” said \u003ca href=\"https://profiles.ucsf.edu/madhavi.dandu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Madhavi Dandu\u003c/a>, a professor of medicine at UCSF.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Many people in that setting are essential workers who don’t really have as much choice about whether they get to go to work,” Dandu said. “And a lot of people might live in closer housing settings or multigenerational households.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Solutions, but Not Easy Ones\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When smoke waves blot the skies, local governments and agencies often cancel classes and sporting and community events and recommend sheltering in place. For some in aging and inexpensively maintained housing, including rentals, however, the air in the home also becomes unsafe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Oakland fills with smoke from wildfires burning in the region, McGrew, the resident of North Oakland who suffers from asthma, says she’s forced indoors. “When the smoke was really heavy, that’s when I had to get my inhaler.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the 2016 and 2017 wildfire seasons, \u003ca href=\"https://www.colorado.edu/even/people/shelly-miller\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shelly Miller\u003c/a>, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder, led research that monitored indoor air quality in 28 homes of low-income residents in Denver.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were responding to an announcement we kept hearing on the news, which is, ‘It’s wildfire season, shelter in your home,'” Miller said. “And we kept thinking, ‘I don’t know if that’s always such a good idea,’ because many homes are not well protected from the outdoor environment, meaning lots of air can come inside from outside.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of the occupants in the homes studied kept their windows open for cooling, and Miller’s team found PM2.5 levels could be much higher inside those homes during smoke waves than outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Running an air cleaner, also called an air purifier, has been found to be highly effective in reducing indoor pollution from wildfire smoke — particularly when it’s operated with windows closed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The factors preventing many residents from buying air cleaners are the same as those forcing them to live in drafty homes in polluted areas — the impoverishing consequences of skyrocketing economic disparity and underinvestments in health and some urban areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In West Oakland, where air pollution from ships, trains and trucks at the port mixes with pollution from freeways and other sources, leading to high rates of asthma and other diseases, health care can be unaffordable, and the housing stock provides limited protection from pollution or smoke waves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Obamacare has helped, but people need to understand that most of our folks that don’t have resources don’t have health coverage,” said Ken Chambers, the pastor of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.westsidelove.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">West Side Missionary Baptist Church\u003c/a> in West Oakland, just a few blocks from the port’s fence line. “People who are poor and broke don’t have the availability to eat high quality foods, they’re eating fast foods. They don’t go to the doctor for regular routine checkups.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McGrew, of North Oakland, has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.climaterealityproject.org/training\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">trained to discuss climate change\u003c/a> by the \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2020/06/09/california-oks-movie-theaters-to-reopen-with-limited-seats/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Climate Reality Project\u003c/a>, a global nonprofit founded by Al Gore. She is also involved in Bay Area committees and efforts to tackle climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She sees strong connections between racism, racial disparities and climate change, and she wants African Americans participating in decision-making that affects everything from how communities are policed to how to grow green jobs and slow warming by reducing fossil fuel use. Shifting from fossil fuels to cleaner economies also boosts air quality, improving lung health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For 400 years, African Americans have been left out of the equation,” she said. “We’ve got to be at the tables when policies are being drafted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Editor’s Note: KQED Science reporter Danielle Venton contributed to this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was produced through a partnership between KQED and \u003ca href=\"https://www.climatecentral.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Climate Central\u003c/a>, a non-advocacy science and news group.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1888,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 43
},
"modified": 1704847317,
"excerpt": "Clean energy and transportation would tackle pollution and help ease the pressure from a main driver of wildfire smoke: climate change.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "Clean energy and transportation would tackle pollution and help ease the pressure from a main driver of wildfire smoke: climate change.",
"title": "Tear Gas, Pollution, Wildfire Smoke: A Triple Threat to Your Lungs | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Tear Gas, Pollution, Wildfire Smoke: A Triple Threat to Your Lungs",
"datePublished": "2020-06-10T00:01:38-07:00",
"dateModified": "2024-01-09T16:41:57-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "tear-gas-pollution-wildfire-smoke-a-triple-threat-to-your-lungs",
"status": "publish",
"audioUrl": "https://traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/0af137ef-751e-4b19-a055-aaef00d2d578/ffca7e9f-6831-41c5-bcaf-aaef00f5a073/29197cf5-37e9-49b0-b8b0-abd601244ca7/audio.mp3",
"nprByline": "\u003cstrong>John Upton\u003cbr>Climate Central\u003c/strong>",
"sticky": false,
"source": "Coronavirus",
"path": "/science/1965688/tear-gas-pollution-wildfire-smoke-a-triple-threat-to-your-lungs",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>eron McGrew stayed home during the past two weeks while others in her hometown of Oakland were protesting systemic racism and police killings of black people. Like many of her neighbors, McGrew has asthma and, because of her breathing difficulties, she feared being exposed to COVID-19 and to tear gas used by police. She also feared police brutality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new coronavirus is taking a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11813696/latinos-around-the-bay-area-are-disproportionately-affected-by-covid-19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">particularly cruel toll\u003c/a> in minority communities, with black Americans \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/20/black-americans-death-rate-covid-19-coronavirus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">far more likely to die\u003c/a> from COVID-19 than white Americans. One of the inequities driving the high numbers of deaths is damage and disease to lungs caused by years spent breathing polluted air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "I’m an African American and I need to be in the protests against systemic racism, but I made a choice for my life.’",
"name": "pullquote",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"citation": "Teron McGrew, Oakland",
"label": ""
},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Lung health is a critical weapon in the fight to reduce deaths during the pandemic. Yet police have been firing chemicals at protesters that can damage lung cells. American soldiers exposed to tear gas in sealed chambers during annual combat training were shown in a \u003ca href=\"https://academic.oup.com/milmed/article/179/7/793/4259353\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2014 study\u003c/a> to be substantially more likely to contract acute respiratory infections afterward, prompting the Army to issue new rules that \u003ca href=\"https://benthamopen.com/ABSTRACT/TOEPIJ-7-37\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">limit their exposure\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The respiratory onslaught precedes a wildfire season that further threatens to weaken immune protections against respiratory diseases such as COVID-19 and influenza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m an African American and I need to be in the protests against systemic racism, but I made a choice for my life,” said McGrew, a resident of North Oakland who works on issues of community and housing development. “I made a choice but people who are dying from COVID-19 and asthma and pollution, they don’t have a choice. They’re dying because of the inequalities and the systemic racism.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pollution from fossil fuels is also warming the planet and the region, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1941376/we-can-make-california-wildfires-less-horrific-will-we\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">leading to larger wildfires\u003c/a> and more of their harmful smoke. As the coronavirus infects new victims, California is heading into a hot, dry wildfire season. Wildfire smoke can blanket forest and foothill communities and choke far-away cities with particles that penetrate lungs and weaken immune responses to infections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1965803\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 548px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Teron-McGrew.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-1965803\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Teron-McGrew-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A woman with coffee skin and black hair, wearing a white sweater, sits at a desk in front of two laptops. This is Teron McGrew at her home office in North Oakland. Rows of books, with books stacked on top of them, fill her bookshelf.\" width=\"548\" height=\"365\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Teron-McGrew-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Teron-McGrew-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Teron-McGrew-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Teron-McGrew-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/06/Teron-McGrew.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 548px) 100vw, 548px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teron McGrew works in her home office in North Oakland. \u003ccite>(Candase Chambers/Climate Central)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The one-two punch of tear gas and wildfire smoke, coupled with ever-present air pollution from fossil fuels, is set to worsen suffering related to the coronavirus this year, with people of color living in polluted areas continuing to feel the worst effects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Epidemiologists, geographers and other researchers have been learning in recent years that wildfire smoke poses a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1929784/breathing-fire-californias-central-valley-bears-the-brunt-of-harmful-wildfire-smoke\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">greater public health risk\u003c/a> than previously realized. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412019326935\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">new study\u003c/a> from Montana shows exposure to “smoke waves” — multiple-day bouts of heavy smoke — led to a substantial increase in influenza cases the following winter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The literature shows that people who are exposed to air pollution during wildfires are more likely to get respiratory infections, and I would classify COVID-19 as a respiratory infection,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.colorado.edu/geography/colleen-reid-0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Colleen Reid\u003c/a>, a geographer at the University of Colorado, Boulder, whose research interests include health impacts from wildfire smoke. “It could lead to more severe cases or even more cases that are noticed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>First Wildfire Smoke, Then Flu\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>To test the relationship between wildfire smoke and influenza, \u003ca href=\"https://health.umt.edu/publichealth/faculty/core-faculty.php?s=Landguth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Erin Landguth\u003c/a>, an associate professor at the University of Montana, led a study that \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412019326935\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">examined health and smoke wave data\u003c/a> over a decade from Montana. The study was published this month in the scientific journal \u003ca href=\"https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environment-international\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Environment International\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Landguth’s team looked for impacts on flu cases within one to four weeks of a smoke wave, and they didn’t find a significant effect during that period. What has stunned experts were impacts on influenza cases detected months later, during the following winter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/2017WildfireAirQuality_en_title_lg.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-1965730\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/2017WildfireAirQuality_en_title_lg-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"394\" height=\"222\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/2017WildfireAirQuality_en_title_lg-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/2017WildfireAirQuality_en_title_lg-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/2017WildfireAirQuality_en_title_lg-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/2017WildfireAirQuality_en_title_lg-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/2017WildfireAirQuality_en_title_lg.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 394px) 100vw, 394px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We thought there would be no way we’d see this long of a delay,” Landguth said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Based on their analysis, the researchers concluded the epic 2017 wildfire season in Big Sky Country caused influenza cases that winter to at least double and possibly rise as much as fivefold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Influenza kills tens of thousands of Americans every year, and the findings also have worrying implications for COVID-19 and other respiratory infections. Landguth is now gathering data from all Western states to expand the influenza research, and is also starting to investigate relationships between smoke waves and COVID-19 infections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ph.ucla.edu/faculty/jerrett\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Jerrett\u003c/a>, a professor at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health, is among the scientists racing to understand relationships between various types of air pollution and COVID-19 as the disease continues to spread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have to be cautious in interpreting what we’re finding, but I think what we’re seeing in a series of very rapidly developing studies is evidence that air pollution does make people more susceptible to COVID,” Jerret said. “The wildfires are likely to exacerbate the existing symptoms.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>More Smoke in California’s Future\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The hazards are intensifying as warming temperatures, worsening droughts, overgrown forest understories, urban development and other changes intensify wildfire seasons, putting more smoke into the air and more smoke particles into lungs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Led by scientists at Yale and Harvard, researchers several years ago used models of fire and winds to \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28642628/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">project smokier futures\u003c/a> for Western counties as temperatures rise. Across the Bay Area, the density of smoke particles suspended in the air during an average smoke wave is projected to nearly double by 2050, compared with levels during the late aughts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/smoke-wave-intensity.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1965720\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/smoke-wave-intensity.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/smoke-wave-intensity.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/smoke-wave-intensity-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/smoke-wave-intensity-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/smoke-wave-intensity-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/06/smoke-wave-intensity-1020x574.jpg 1020w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.predictiveservices.nifc.gov/outlooks/monthly_seasonal_outlook.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wildfire outlook\u003c/a> published by federal agencies on June 1 shows above normal potential for blazes across most of Northern California through September. Snowpacks are melting early in the warm spring temperatures, and hot and dry conditions are expected to persist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ingredient of greatest concern in smoke is PM2.5, the name given to the finest of particulate matter — particles so small they can lodge deep in lungs, and are sometimes so small they can enter the bloodstream. Smoke also affects levels of ozone pollution and it can contain toxic byproducts from incinerated plastics and paint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once inhaled, PM2.5 particles operate at a microscopic level to inflame and injure lung cells, providing the coronavirus and other pathogens with a boost as they work to overcome their victim’s immune system. The smoke also adds to risks of heart attack and a long list of other common and sometimes deadly maladies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tiny particulate matter isn’t just produced during wildfires — it’s present in pollution released by vehicle exhausts, power plants, refineries, farms and wood stoves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Research is \u003ca href=\"https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/air-pollution-linked-with-higher-covid-19-death-rates/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">underway at Harvard\u003c/a> and elsewhere examining whether exposure to tiny particulate matter from fossil fuel pollution increases the risk of death from COVID-19. If so, this would raise the already elevated coronavirus threats faced by communities of color, which are frequently located in less costly areas that are heavily polluted, including those along highways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Poor black and brown communities, especially, are at higher risk of dying from COVID, and they’re at higher risk because of a lot of things — one related to chronic inflammation from having faced chronic trauma and exposure, chronic air pollution, et cetera,” said \u003ca href=\"https://profiles.ucsf.edu/madhavi.dandu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Madhavi Dandu\u003c/a>, a professor of medicine at UCSF.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Many people in that setting are essential workers who don’t really have as much choice about whether they get to go to work,” Dandu said. “And a lot of people might live in closer housing settings or multigenerational households.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Solutions, but Not Easy Ones\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When smoke waves blot the skies, local governments and agencies often cancel classes and sporting and community events and recommend sheltering in place. For some in aging and inexpensively maintained housing, including rentals, however, the air in the home also becomes unsafe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Oakland fills with smoke from wildfires burning in the region, McGrew, the resident of North Oakland who suffers from asthma, says she’s forced indoors. “When the smoke was really heavy, that’s when I had to get my inhaler.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the 2016 and 2017 wildfire seasons, \u003ca href=\"https://www.colorado.edu/even/people/shelly-miller\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shelly Miller\u003c/a>, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder, led research that monitored indoor air quality in 28 homes of low-income residents in Denver.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were responding to an announcement we kept hearing on the news, which is, ‘It’s wildfire season, shelter in your home,'” Miller said. “And we kept thinking, ‘I don’t know if that’s always such a good idea,’ because many homes are not well protected from the outdoor environment, meaning lots of air can come inside from outside.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of the occupants in the homes studied kept their windows open for cooling, and Miller’s team found PM2.5 levels could be much higher inside those homes during smoke waves than outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Running an air cleaner, also called an air purifier, has been found to be highly effective in reducing indoor pollution from wildfire smoke — particularly when it’s operated with windows closed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The factors preventing many residents from buying air cleaners are the same as those forcing them to live in drafty homes in polluted areas — the impoverishing consequences of skyrocketing economic disparity and underinvestments in health and some urban areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In West Oakland, where air pollution from ships, trains and trucks at the port mixes with pollution from freeways and other sources, leading to high rates of asthma and other diseases, health care can be unaffordable, and the housing stock provides limited protection from pollution or smoke waves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Obamacare has helped, but people need to understand that most of our folks that don’t have resources don’t have health coverage,” said Ken Chambers, the pastor of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.westsidelove.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">West Side Missionary Baptist Church\u003c/a> in West Oakland, just a few blocks from the port’s fence line. “People who are poor and broke don’t have the availability to eat high quality foods, they’re eating fast foods. They don’t go to the doctor for regular routine checkups.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McGrew, of North Oakland, has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.climaterealityproject.org/training\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">trained to discuss climate change\u003c/a> by the \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2020/06/09/california-oks-movie-theaters-to-reopen-with-limited-seats/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Climate Reality Project\u003c/a>, a global nonprofit founded by Al Gore. She is also involved in Bay Area committees and efforts to tackle climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She sees strong connections between racism, racial disparities and climate change, and she wants African Americans participating in decision-making that affects everything from how communities are policed to how to grow green jobs and slow warming by reducing fossil fuel use. Shifting from fossil fuels to cleaner economies also boosts air quality, improving lung health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For 400 years, African Americans have been left out of the equation,” she said. “We’ve got to be at the tables when policies are being drafted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Editor’s Note: KQED Science reporter Danielle Venton contributed to this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was produced through a partnership between KQED and \u003ca href=\"https://www.climatecentral.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Climate Central\u003c/a>, a non-advocacy science and news group.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/science/1965688/tear-gas-pollution-wildfire-smoke-a-triple-threat-to-your-lungs",
"authors": [
"byline_science_1965688"
],
"categories": [
"science_31",
"science_39",
"science_3890",
"science_40",
"science_4450",
"science_3730"
],
"tags": [
"science_4329",
"science_4414",
"science_5181",
"science_113"
],
"featImg": "science_1965739",
"label": "source_science_1965688"
},
"science_1965648": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "science_1965648",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1965648",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1591722059000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1591722059,
"format": "standard",
"title": "After Criticism, WHO Official Issues Clarification on Asymptomatic Coronavirus Transmission",
"headTitle": "After Criticism, WHO Official Issues Clarification on Asymptomatic Coronavirus Transmission | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>A top World Health Organization official clarified on Tuesday that scientists have not determined yet how frequently people with asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 pass the disease on to others, a day after suggesting that such spread is “very rare.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The clarification comes after the WHO’s original comments incited strong pushback from outside public health experts, who suggested the agency had erred, or at least miscommunicated, when it said people who didn’t show symptoms were unlikely to spread the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead on the COVID-19 pandemic, made it very clear Tuesday that the actual rates of asymptomatic transmission aren’t yet known.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The majority of transmission that we know about is that people who have symptoms transmit the virus to other people through infectious droplets,” Van Kerkhove said. “But there are a subset of people who don’t develop symptoms, and to truly understand how many people don’t have symptoms, we don’t actually have that answer yet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Van Kerkhove’s remarks on Tuesday came at a WHO question-and-answer session aimed at explaining what was known and unknown about how the virus spreads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the confusion boiled down to the details of what an asymptomatic infection actually is, and the different ways the term is used. While some cases of COVID-19 are fully asymptomatic, sometimes the word is also used to describe people who haven’t started showing symptoms yet, when they are presymptomatic. Research has shown that people become infectious before they start feeling sick, during that presymptomatic period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At one of the WHO’s thrice-weekly press briefings Monday, Van Kerkhove noted that when health officials review cases that are initially reported to be asymptomatic, “we find out that many have really mild disease.” There are some infected people who are “truly asymptomatic,” she said, but countries that are doing detailed contact tracing are “not finding secondary transmission onward” from those cases. “It’s very rare,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She added: “We are constantly looking at this data and we’re trying to get more information from countries to truly answer this question.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To some, it came across as if the WHO was suggesting that people without symptoms weren’t driving the spread. Some studies, however, have estimated that people without symptoms (whether truly asymptomatic or presymptomatic) could be responsible for up to half of the spread, which is why the virus has been so difficult to contain. Isolating people who are sick, for example, does not prevent the possibility they already passed the virus on to others. Some modeling studies have assumed quite widespread asymptomatic transmission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The WHO created confusion yesterday when it reported that asymptomatic patients rarely spread the disease,” an email from the Harvard Global Health Institute said Tuesday. “All of the best evidence suggests that people without symptoms can and do readily spread SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. In fact, some evidence suggests that people may be most infectious in the days before they become symptomatic — that is, in the presymptomatic phase when they feel well, have no symptoms, but may be shedding substantial amounts of virus.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their point: People not showing symptoms can spread the virus, whether they ultimately feel sick or not. That’s why wearing masks and keeping distance are so important to limiting transmission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Van Kerkhove acknowledged Tuesday that her use of the phrase “very rare” had been a miscommunication. She said she had based that phrasing on findings from a small number of studies that followed asymptomatic cases and tracked how many of their contacts became infected. She said she did not mean to imply that “asymptomatic transmission globally” was happening rarely, because that has not been determined yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Determining which routes of transmission are driving most of the spread of the virus is crucial so health experts can develop the right strategies to combat the virus. At the WHO event Tuesday, officials stressed that even as scientists are still learning more about the virus and how it spreads, countries have demonstrated that the best tactics to address the pandemic include isolating cases, contact tracing, and quarantining contacts — as well as hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With those measures, “We won’t stop all transmission, but what we do is, we suppress transmission,” Mike Ryan, the head of WHO’s emergencies program, said Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other unknowns the WHO experts raised Tuesday include how asymptomatic or presymptomatic people are spreading the virus if they are not coughing — it could be that they still expel infectious droplets through singing, yelling, or even talking — as well as the percentage of all COVID-19 cases that are asymptomatic. One recent paper estimated that 40% to 45% of cases might be asymptomatic, though others have pegged that figure at closer to 20% or even lower.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Based on what’s been seen so far, asymptomatic people tend to be younger and not have other health issues, Van Kerkhove said Tuesday, though she cautioned she didn’t want to generalize.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the studies about asymptomatic transmission that Van Kerkhove referred to, the WHO has also received data from member countries that “suggests that asymptomatically-infected individuals are much less likely to transmit the virus than those who develop symptoms,” according to WHO’s interim guidance on masks issued last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside experts have called on the WHO to release that data. Both outside experts and WHO officials have acknowledged that detecting asymptomatic spread would be really difficult, and just because scientists haven’t seen something occurring often doesn’t mean it’s not happening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every question we answer, we have 10 more,” Van Kerkhove said Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2020/06/09/who-comments-asymptomatic-spread-covid-19/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">story\u003c/a> was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/\">STAT\u003c/a>, an online publication of Boston Globe Media that covers health, medicine, and scientific discovery.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1031,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 22
},
"modified": 1704847322,
"excerpt": "Outside public health experts suggested that the agency had erred, or at least miscommunicated, when one of its top COVID-19 officials said people who didn’t show symptoms were unlikely to spread the virus.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "Outside public health experts suggested that the agency had erred, or at least miscommunicated, when one of its top COVID-19 officials said people who didn’t show symptoms were unlikely to spread the virus.",
"title": "After Criticism, WHO Official Issues Clarification on Asymptomatic Coronavirus Transmission | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "After Criticism, WHO Official Issues Clarification on Asymptomatic Coronavirus Transmission",
"datePublished": "2020-06-09T10:00:59-07:00",
"dateModified": "2024-01-09T16:42:02-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "who-official-issues-clarification-on-asymptomatic-coronavirus-transmission-after-criticism",
"status": "publish",
"nprByline": "Andrew Joseph\u003cbr />STAT\u003cbr>",
"sticky": false,
"source": "STAT ",
"path": "/science/1965648/who-official-issues-clarification-on-asymptomatic-coronavirus-transmission-after-criticism",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A top World Health Organization official clarified on Tuesday that scientists have not determined yet how frequently people with asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 pass the disease on to others, a day after suggesting that such spread is “very rare.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The clarification comes after the WHO’s original comments incited strong pushback from outside public health experts, who suggested the agency had erred, or at least miscommunicated, when it said people who didn’t show symptoms were unlikely to spread the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead on the COVID-19 pandemic, made it very clear Tuesday that the actual rates of asymptomatic transmission aren’t yet known.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The majority of transmission that we know about is that people who have symptoms transmit the virus to other people through infectious droplets,” Van Kerkhove said. “But there are a subset of people who don’t develop symptoms, and to truly understand how many people don’t have symptoms, we don’t actually have that answer yet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Van Kerkhove’s remarks on Tuesday came at a WHO question-and-answer session aimed at explaining what was known and unknown about how the virus spreads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the confusion boiled down to the details of what an asymptomatic infection actually is, and the different ways the term is used. While some cases of COVID-19 are fully asymptomatic, sometimes the word is also used to describe people who haven’t started showing symptoms yet, when they are presymptomatic. Research has shown that people become infectious before they start feeling sick, during that presymptomatic period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At one of the WHO’s thrice-weekly press briefings Monday, Van Kerkhove noted that when health officials review cases that are initially reported to be asymptomatic, “we find out that many have really mild disease.” There are some infected people who are “truly asymptomatic,” she said, but countries that are doing detailed contact tracing are “not finding secondary transmission onward” from those cases. “It’s very rare,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She added: “We are constantly looking at this data and we’re trying to get more information from countries to truly answer this question.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To some, it came across as if the WHO was suggesting that people without symptoms weren’t driving the spread. Some studies, however, have estimated that people without symptoms (whether truly asymptomatic or presymptomatic) could be responsible for up to half of the spread, which is why the virus has been so difficult to contain. Isolating people who are sick, for example, does not prevent the possibility they already passed the virus on to others. Some modeling studies have assumed quite widespread asymptomatic transmission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The WHO created confusion yesterday when it reported that asymptomatic patients rarely spread the disease,” an email from the Harvard Global Health Institute said Tuesday. “All of the best evidence suggests that people without symptoms can and do readily spread SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. In fact, some evidence suggests that people may be most infectious in the days before they become symptomatic — that is, in the presymptomatic phase when they feel well, have no symptoms, but may be shedding substantial amounts of virus.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their point: People not showing symptoms can spread the virus, whether they ultimately feel sick or not. That’s why wearing masks and keeping distance are so important to limiting transmission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Van Kerkhove acknowledged Tuesday that her use of the phrase “very rare” had been a miscommunication. She said she had based that phrasing on findings from a small number of studies that followed asymptomatic cases and tracked how many of their contacts became infected. She said she did not mean to imply that “asymptomatic transmission globally” was happening rarely, because that has not been determined yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Determining which routes of transmission are driving most of the spread of the virus is crucial so health experts can develop the right strategies to combat the virus. At the WHO event Tuesday, officials stressed that even as scientists are still learning more about the virus and how it spreads, countries have demonstrated that the best tactics to address the pandemic include isolating cases, contact tracing, and quarantining contacts — as well as hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With those measures, “We won’t stop all transmission, but what we do is, we suppress transmission,” Mike Ryan, the head of WHO’s emergencies program, said Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other unknowns the WHO experts raised Tuesday include how asymptomatic or presymptomatic people are spreading the virus if they are not coughing — it could be that they still expel infectious droplets through singing, yelling, or even talking — as well as the percentage of all COVID-19 cases that are asymptomatic. One recent paper estimated that 40% to 45% of cases might be asymptomatic, though others have pegged that figure at closer to 20% or even lower.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Based on what’s been seen so far, asymptomatic people tend to be younger and not have other health issues, Van Kerkhove said Tuesday, though she cautioned she didn’t want to generalize.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the studies about asymptomatic transmission that Van Kerkhove referred to, the WHO has also received data from member countries that “suggests that asymptomatically-infected individuals are much less likely to transmit the virus than those who develop symptoms,” according to WHO’s interim guidance on masks issued last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside experts have called on the WHO to release that data. Both outside experts and WHO officials have acknowledged that detecting asymptomatic spread would be really difficult, and just because scientists haven’t seen something occurring often doesn’t mean it’s not happening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every question we answer, we have 10 more,” Van Kerkhove said Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2020/06/09/who-comments-asymptomatic-spread-covid-19/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">story\u003c/a> was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/\">STAT\u003c/a>, an online publication of Boston Globe Media that covers health, medicine, and scientific discovery.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/science/1965648/who-official-issues-clarification-on-asymptomatic-coronavirus-transmission-after-criticism",
"authors": [
"byline_science_1965648"
],
"categories": [
"science_39",
"science_3890",
"science_40",
"science_4450"
],
"tags": [
"science_4329",
"science_4414",
"science_5181"
],
"featImg": "science_1965654",
"label": "source_science_1965648"
},
"science_1965321": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "science_1965321",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1965321",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1591115105000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1591115105,
"format": "standard",
"title": "Is It Safe to Keep Loosening Coronavirus Restrictions? Medical Experts Weigh In",
"headTitle": "Is It Safe to Keep Loosening Coronavirus Restrictions? Medical Experts Weigh In | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>The nine Bay Area counties are in the process of incrementally reopening businesses and activities that were shut down to slow the spread of the coronavirus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, with hospitalizations and deaths for COVID-19 having plateaued throughout the region, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties are loosening restrictions according to the state’s road map, while Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties are taking a more deliberate approach. You can see the current\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1963889/coronavirus-some-bay-area-counties-are-about-to-open-up-more-heres-where-your-county-stands\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> reopening status of all the counties\u003c/a> here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But no matter which county you live in, the fact is there are now more people interacting with each other than at any time since the Bay Area basically closed up shop in March, which by definition provides more opportunities for the virus to spread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To get an epidemiological take on what to expect, we asked infectious disease and medical experts from UCSF, Stanford and UC Berkeley what these reopenings could mean for the Bay Area and what health officials should watch for as they grapple with the possibility of having to reinstate closures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, professor of pediatrics, epidemiology and population health at Stanford University School of Medicine\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘(W)e’re just not seeing transmissions if people just wear surgical masks.’\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maldonado says, in effect, that there’s no free lunch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I fully expect to see additional cases,” she said. “I don’t think that the counties are going to be able to stop that, because, frankly, I think people are just really tired of being cooped up. It’s tough. And not only that, it’s tough on the economy. People want to get back to their jobs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But limiting the increase of new cases will be a function of how well people adhere to social distancing and prevention rules, she says. This may be difficult, given the psychological and economic toll on people that staying at home for such a long period of time has taken.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said officials need to help businesses “enforce what they can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think the vast majority of the businesses are doing the best they can,” she said. “But we also need the public to cooperate and behave properly so that they can also reduce transmission.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Limiting the number of people inside businesses, keeping workers and customers spaced out, and reducing “touch opportunities,” as some restaurants have done with app-based menus, will help reduce spread of the virus, she says. Basic guidelines to wear masks, wash hands and stay six feet apart are still best practices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What I’ve seen in the hospital is we’re just not seeing transmissions if people just wear surgical masks. I’m not talking about N95 or hazmat suits,” Maldonado said. “So if we could just do something simple, like wear a face mask, wash our hands and just stay a little bit apart, I think we can still go out. And then people can maintain their sanity and the economy, and we can still get to zero [transmissions] at some point. It won’t happen overnight, but we will get there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maldonado says if an uptick in cases is observed, public county health officials will need to rethink their reopening strategy. But barring huge increases, she says, this doesn’t necessarily mean that restrictions should be reinstated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You give something, people are excited. If you take it back, that’s going to be tough,” Maldonado said. “I’m more worried now about people just getting so overwhelmed by this that they’re just going to stop doing everything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead of tightening back up if cases get out of hand, Maldonado recommends better enforcement of social distancing policies. Drawing circles on the grass in parks where individual households can gather while maintaining distance from others is one example, with authorities enforcing those rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ultimately, she says officials need to find ways to make it easier for people to comply with directives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Active prevention is easier to comply with than passive, meaning when you tell people how to behave, that doesn’t work as well. So how do we put those guardrails up in ways that we can still get ourselves moving? And I think that’s where we have to be creative in our solutions, and that’s where the county health departments are really going to have to try to work on it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dr. Art Reingold, professor of epidemiology at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>”(I)t’s going to be a really difficult political and social and public health decision … to say ‘things are getting bad again, we need to reimpose X, Y and Z.’\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reingold says making predictions about potential spikes in COVID-19 cases is difficult because of two big unknowns. One uncertainty is whether the warmer summer temperatures will stall the virus to some degree; the other is whether people will continue to observe social distancing and hygiene guidelines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If they interpret the loosening of restrictions as license to go back to the way things used to be, I am concerned that we will see substantial resurgence, but I hope that’s not the case,” he said. “It’ll be a lot easier to answer that question in a month or two.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He expects the virus will continue to circulate in the region for the foreseeable future, along with the same range in the severity of cases from asymptomatic to fatal. Herd immunity, which in the case of the novel coronavirus would require about 70% to 80% of the population to be vaccinated or have developed biological protection from an earlier infection, is still a long way off, he says. Scientists have estimated the percentage of the Bay Area population that’s been infected is 5% or less.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reingold says the decision to reinstate more rigid restrictions will be informed by clinical and public health data, but he suspects there will be pressure on officials to keep things open, making tightening back up a last resort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it’s going to be a really difficult political and social and public health decision for a county or city or state to say ‘things are getting bad again, we need to reimpose X, Y and Z.’ I think that’ll be challenged both by political concerns and pushback from people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dr. John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus at UC Berkeley School of Public Health in the Division of Infectious Diseases\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Three steps forward, one back; three steps forward, two back. … That’s the way I think to proceed.’\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swartzberg said the safe way to open up is to “meticulously” track the numbers of positive tests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re starting to see the trend go up, pull back. And you don’t have to pull all the way back. Follow the numbers and if the numbers drop down again, then you can let people go back to work,” he said. “The way to preserve as many lives as we can during the pandemic is to have little ripples as opposed to big waves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He thinks a stop-and-start approach when it comes to restrictions is the best way for public health officials to keep new transmissions in check.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Three steps forward, one back; three steps forward, two back; three steps forward, none back; and then three more steps forward. That’s the way I think to proceed. But it’s predicated upon adequate testing because otherwise we’re flying blind.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swartzberg says the more testing administered on a daily basis, the more accurate the numbers will be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You want to get a representative sample of your community and test those on a daily basis,” he said. He thinks the state’s benchmark of 100 tests per 200,000 residents is a reasonable ratio.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He agrees with other experts that the level of adherence to social distancing and hygiene rules will determine how much cases will spike as countries reopen. This applies to the recent protests related to the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota that have attracted large crowds of demonstrators throughout the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m very concerned, not about why people are protesting, but about how,” he said in email. “Without social distancing, without wearing masks and with raised voices (and, therefore, lots of droplets in the air), the virus is likely to spread. And, it’s not just the protesters, but also the police who are not wearing a mask.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swartzberg says it could take three weeks for the consequences of so many people gathering together without protection to manifest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dr. Bob Wachter, chair of the Department of Medicine at UCSF\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘There’s every reason to believe we’ll see an uptick in cases.’\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With no vaccine and only about 1% to 5% of people in the Bay Area estimated to have been infected with SARS-CoV-2, Wachter says the vast majority of the population is still susceptible. And for those who did have the virus, whether they have lasting protection from antibodies is still being determined. Wachter says that means reopenings will likely result in an uptick in cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you believe, as I do, that the reason that the Bay Area was hit so mildly over the last few months is the behavior of our people in terms of distancing and mask wearing and staying home, then if we lighten that up, there’s every reason to believe that we’ll see an increased number of new cases,” Wachter said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re in that very tricky phase where loosening up a little bit is appropriate, as long as we’re watching very carefully and as long as we are ready to tighten things back up again if things start getting out of hand.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In terms of the recent Bay Area protests, Wachter said mask-wearing is critical. “Large crowds with people shouting is a formula for spread if people aren’t wearing masks. If they are and are doing their best to keep a distance from others, it is safe enough that people should make their own choices. I completely understand the motivation for protesting and people should just do it as safely as they can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wachter says making the call to reinstate lockdowns will be a difficult one for officials to make, and waiting for hospitalizations or deaths to rise may come too late to contain a surge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If those are your main signals, those are picking up things that happened two weeks ago,” he said. “If I were to catch COVID today in the supermarket, I feel fine for on average five days. If I was destined to get really sick, that would probably take another five to seven days. And if I was destined to go to an ICU or to die of it, it would probably take another week or two. So those are really late signals.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wachter says widespread testing is needed to detect small blips in cases before a large surge occurs. He also says the number of calls to hospitals and urgent care centers from people with symptoms could be an early indicator for a wave of new cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The analogy I use is if you were in New York in March, you were in the middle of a wildfire. In San Francisco, in the Bay Area … there’s no wildfire. But there are embers. And we have to figure out ways of finding those embers and quickly containing them. And that means a lot of testing. It means anybody with any symptoms at all gets in for rapid testing. If they’re positive, we go ahead and find their contacts, we test them. We’re also doing some testing [at UCSF] of asymptomatic people, because we know a lot of people with the virus won’t have symptoms, to try to pick up the early warning signs that there is COVID in the community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wachter says if cases start to increase, dialing back on reopening is advisable. But to what degree could depend on where in the community the cases are coming from. If surges are traced to religious services or other activities, Wachter says closures could be tailored accordingly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In March, we didn’t have that kind of information. So the prudent thing to do was to shut down everything. But now I think we’ll be able to be a little bit more pinpoint about it. That said, if truly we had a doubling of cases, I would go back to March. I would say it’s time to shut back down everything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 2205,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 50
},
"modified": 1704847345,
"excerpt": "With all of the nine Bay Area counties expanding the type of businesses and activities allowed to reopen, we asked four medical experts what they think the effects of loosening restrictions will be on coronavirus transmission rates. ",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "With all of the nine Bay Area counties expanding the type of businesses and activities allowed to reopen, we asked four medical experts what they think the effects of loosening restrictions will be on coronavirus transmission rates. ",
"title": "Is It Safe to Keep Loosening Coronavirus Restrictions? Medical Experts Weigh In | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Is It Safe to Keep Loosening Coronavirus Restrictions? Medical Experts Weigh In",
"datePublished": "2020-06-02T09:25:05-07:00",
"dateModified": "2024-01-09T16:42:25-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "so-whats-going-to-happen-to-bay-area-case-counts-now-medical-experts-weigh-in",
"status": "publish",
"sticky": false,
"source": "Coronavirus",
"path": "/science/1965321/so-whats-going-to-happen-to-bay-area-case-counts-now-medical-experts-weigh-in",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The nine Bay Area counties are in the process of incrementally reopening businesses and activities that were shut down to slow the spread of the coronavirus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, with hospitalizations and deaths for COVID-19 having plateaued throughout the region, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties are loosening restrictions according to the state’s road map, while Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties are taking a more deliberate approach. You can see the current\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1963889/coronavirus-some-bay-area-counties-are-about-to-open-up-more-heres-where-your-county-stands\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> reopening status of all the counties\u003c/a> here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But no matter which county you live in, the fact is there are now more people interacting with each other than at any time since the Bay Area basically closed up shop in March, which by definition provides more opportunities for the virus to spread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To get an epidemiological take on what to expect, we asked infectious disease and medical experts from UCSF, Stanford and UC Berkeley what these reopenings could mean for the Bay Area and what health officials should watch for as they grapple with the possibility of having to reinstate closures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, professor of pediatrics, epidemiology and population health at Stanford University School of Medicine\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘(W)e’re just not seeing transmissions if people just wear surgical masks.’\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maldonado says, in effect, that there’s no free lunch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I fully expect to see additional cases,” she said. “I don’t think that the counties are going to be able to stop that, because, frankly, I think people are just really tired of being cooped up. It’s tough. And not only that, it’s tough on the economy. People want to get back to their jobs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But limiting the increase of new cases will be a function of how well people adhere to social distancing and prevention rules, she says. This may be difficult, given the psychological and economic toll on people that staying at home for such a long period of time has taken.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said officials need to help businesses “enforce what they can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think the vast majority of the businesses are doing the best they can,” she said. “But we also need the public to cooperate and behave properly so that they can also reduce transmission.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Limiting the number of people inside businesses, keeping workers and customers spaced out, and reducing “touch opportunities,” as some restaurants have done with app-based menus, will help reduce spread of the virus, she says. Basic guidelines to wear masks, wash hands and stay six feet apart are still best practices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What I’ve seen in the hospital is we’re just not seeing transmissions if people just wear surgical masks. I’m not talking about N95 or hazmat suits,” Maldonado said. “So if we could just do something simple, like wear a face mask, wash our hands and just stay a little bit apart, I think we can still go out. And then people can maintain their sanity and the economy, and we can still get to zero [transmissions] at some point. It won’t happen overnight, but we will get there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maldonado says if an uptick in cases is observed, public county health officials will need to rethink their reopening strategy. But barring huge increases, she says, this doesn’t necessarily mean that restrictions should be reinstated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You give something, people are excited. If you take it back, that’s going to be tough,” Maldonado said. “I’m more worried now about people just getting so overwhelmed by this that they’re just going to stop doing everything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead of tightening back up if cases get out of hand, Maldonado recommends better enforcement of social distancing policies. Drawing circles on the grass in parks where individual households can gather while maintaining distance from others is one example, with authorities enforcing those rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ultimately, she says officials need to find ways to make it easier for people to comply with directives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Active prevention is easier to comply with than passive, meaning when you tell people how to behave, that doesn’t work as well. So how do we put those guardrails up in ways that we can still get ourselves moving? And I think that’s where we have to be creative in our solutions, and that’s where the county health departments are really going to have to try to work on it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dr. Art Reingold, professor of epidemiology at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>”(I)t’s going to be a really difficult political and social and public health decision … to say ‘things are getting bad again, we need to reimpose X, Y and Z.’\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reingold says making predictions about potential spikes in COVID-19 cases is difficult because of two big unknowns. One uncertainty is whether the warmer summer temperatures will stall the virus to some degree; the other is whether people will continue to observe social distancing and hygiene guidelines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If they interpret the loosening of restrictions as license to go back to the way things used to be, I am concerned that we will see substantial resurgence, but I hope that’s not the case,” he said. “It’ll be a lot easier to answer that question in a month or two.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He expects the virus will continue to circulate in the region for the foreseeable future, along with the same range in the severity of cases from asymptomatic to fatal. Herd immunity, which in the case of the novel coronavirus would require about 70% to 80% of the population to be vaccinated or have developed biological protection from an earlier infection, is still a long way off, he says. Scientists have estimated the percentage of the Bay Area population that’s been infected is 5% or less.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reingold says the decision to reinstate more rigid restrictions will be informed by clinical and public health data, but he suspects there will be pressure on officials to keep things open, making tightening back up a last resort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it’s going to be a really difficult political and social and public health decision for a county or city or state to say ‘things are getting bad again, we need to reimpose X, Y and Z.’ I think that’ll be challenged both by political concerns and pushback from people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dr. John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus at UC Berkeley School of Public Health in the Division of Infectious Diseases\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Three steps forward, one back; three steps forward, two back. … That’s the way I think to proceed.’\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swartzberg said the safe way to open up is to “meticulously” track the numbers of positive tests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re starting to see the trend go up, pull back. And you don’t have to pull all the way back. Follow the numbers and if the numbers drop down again, then you can let people go back to work,” he said. “The way to preserve as many lives as we can during the pandemic is to have little ripples as opposed to big waves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He thinks a stop-and-start approach when it comes to restrictions is the best way for public health officials to keep new transmissions in check.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Three steps forward, one back; three steps forward, two back; three steps forward, none back; and then three more steps forward. That’s the way I think to proceed. But it’s predicated upon adequate testing because otherwise we’re flying blind.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swartzberg says the more testing administered on a daily basis, the more accurate the numbers will be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You want to get a representative sample of your community and test those on a daily basis,” he said. He thinks the state’s benchmark of 100 tests per 200,000 residents is a reasonable ratio.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He agrees with other experts that the level of adherence to social distancing and hygiene rules will determine how much cases will spike as countries reopen. This applies to the recent protests related to the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota that have attracted large crowds of demonstrators throughout the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m very concerned, not about why people are protesting, but about how,” he said in email. “Without social distancing, without wearing masks and with raised voices (and, therefore, lots of droplets in the air), the virus is likely to spread. And, it’s not just the protesters, but also the police who are not wearing a mask.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swartzberg says it could take three weeks for the consequences of so many people gathering together without protection to manifest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dr. Bob Wachter, chair of the Department of Medicine at UCSF\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘There’s every reason to believe we’ll see an uptick in cases.’\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With no vaccine and only about 1% to 5% of people in the Bay Area estimated to have been infected with SARS-CoV-2, Wachter says the vast majority of the population is still susceptible. And for those who did have the virus, whether they have lasting protection from antibodies is still being determined. Wachter says that means reopenings will likely result in an uptick in cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you believe, as I do, that the reason that the Bay Area was hit so mildly over the last few months is the behavior of our people in terms of distancing and mask wearing and staying home, then if we lighten that up, there’s every reason to believe that we’ll see an increased number of new cases,” Wachter said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re in that very tricky phase where loosening up a little bit is appropriate, as long as we’re watching very carefully and as long as we are ready to tighten things back up again if things start getting out of hand.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In terms of the recent Bay Area protests, Wachter said mask-wearing is critical. “Large crowds with people shouting is a formula for spread if people aren’t wearing masks. If they are and are doing their best to keep a distance from others, it is safe enough that people should make their own choices. I completely understand the motivation for protesting and people should just do it as safely as they can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wachter says making the call to reinstate lockdowns will be a difficult one for officials to make, and waiting for hospitalizations or deaths to rise may come too late to contain a surge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If those are your main signals, those are picking up things that happened two weeks ago,” he said. “If I were to catch COVID today in the supermarket, I feel fine for on average five days. If I was destined to get really sick, that would probably take another five to seven days. And if I was destined to go to an ICU or to die of it, it would probably take another week or two. So those are really late signals.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wachter says widespread testing is needed to detect small blips in cases before a large surge occurs. He also says the number of calls to hospitals and urgent care centers from people with symptoms could be an early indicator for a wave of new cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The analogy I use is if you were in New York in March, you were in the middle of a wildfire. In San Francisco, in the Bay Area … there’s no wildfire. But there are embers. And we have to figure out ways of finding those embers and quickly containing them. And that means a lot of testing. It means anybody with any symptoms at all gets in for rapid testing. If they’re positive, we go ahead and find their contacts, we test them. We’re also doing some testing [at UCSF] of asymptomatic people, because we know a lot of people with the virus won’t have symptoms, to try to pick up the early warning signs that there is COVID in the community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wachter says if cases start to increase, dialing back on reopening is advisable. But to what degree could depend on where in the community the cases are coming from. If surges are traced to religious services or other activities, Wachter says closures could be tailored accordingly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In March, we didn’t have that kind of information. So the prudent thing to do was to shut down everything. But now I think we’ll be able to be a little bit more pinpoint about it. That said, if truly we had a doubling of cases, I would go back to March. I would say it’s time to shut back down everything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/science/1965321/so-whats-going-to-happen-to-bay-area-case-counts-now-medical-experts-weigh-in",
"authors": [
"11368"
],
"categories": [
"science_39",
"science_3890",
"science_4450"
],
"tags": [
"science_4329",
"science_5181"
],
"featImg": "science_1965328",
"label": "source_science_1965321"
},
"science_1965287": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "science_1965287",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1965287",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1591046872000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "science"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1591046872,
"format": "standard",
"title": "Laguna Honda's New CEO Hopes to Focus on COVID-19 Care, not Past Scandal",
"headTitle": "Laguna Honda’s New CEO Hopes to Focus on COVID-19 Care, not Past Scandal | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>A new chief executive officer begins at San Francisco’s Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center this week, almost a year after the last one resigned. Michael Phillips says he wants to focus on the facility’s stabilization of an early outbreak of the coronavirus, rather than its recent rocky past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My vision is to ensure the safety and well-being of all of our residents,” Phillips says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the last few years, he ran Silver Lake Medical Center, a small acute-care hospital with campuses in downtown Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, Laguna Honda itself was in scandal: from 2016 to 2019, staffers had sexually abused and photographed residents without their consent, abused residents verbally, made mistakes in medications and gave residents medicine that wasn’t prescribed to them in order to restrain them, \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6558487-7-12-19-Complaint-Survey-2567-1.html\">according to a state investigation\u003c/a>. Even after a high-profile press conference, regulators made immediate jeopardy findings last summer, indicating that patients weren’t yet safe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A criminal investigation into the abuse remains open; some staffers were fired.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In April, Phillips began transitioning into his new post: It’s a tough time to step into the job: the city and county of San Francisco \u003ca href=\"https://sfmayor.org/article/mayor-london-breed-announces-updated-budget-impacts-result-covid-19\">projects a $1.7 billion budget deficit\u003c/a>, not counting COVID-19 emergency response costs. Phillips acknowledges that Laguna Honda will likely need to tighten its finances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In no way will we be looking at patient care areas and anything that is there in place to support our residents,” Phillips said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Laguna Honda has stabilized an early outbreak of COVID-19, counting now 6 active cases of the virus among residents and staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About the prior patient abuse, Phillips says “bad things happen to good organizations.” He praises the facility’s current caregivers for their response to the virus — and he says he recognizes that the pandemic isn’t over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have some 780 residents,” says Phillips. “That makes our facility a prime target, if you will, if good processes and procedures are not in place.” His top goal: controlling the spread of COVID-19 and caring for people sickened by the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>3:06 p.m. This post has been updated to reflect a new number of active COVID-19 cases. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 397,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 13
},
"modified": 1704847349,
"excerpt": null,
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "A new chief executive officer begins at San Francisco’s Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center this week, almost a year after the last one resigned. Michael Phillips says he wants to focus on the facility’s stabilization of an early outbreak of the coronavirus, rather than its recent rocky past. “My vision is to ensure the",
"title": "Laguna Honda's New CEO Hopes to Focus on COVID-19 Care, not Past Scandal | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Laguna Honda's New CEO Hopes to Focus on COVID-19 Care, not Past Scandal",
"datePublished": "2020-06-01T14:27:52-07:00",
"dateModified": "2024-01-09T16:42:29-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "laguna-hondas-new-ceo-hopes-to-focus-on-covid-19-care-not-past-scandal",
"status": "publish",
"sticky": false,
"path": "/science/1965287/laguna-hondas-new-ceo-hopes-to-focus-on-covid-19-care-not-past-scandal",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A new chief executive officer begins at San Francisco’s Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center this week, almost a year after the last one resigned. Michael Phillips says he wants to focus on the facility’s stabilization of an early outbreak of the coronavirus, rather than its recent rocky past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My vision is to ensure the safety and well-being of all of our residents,” Phillips says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the last few years, he ran Silver Lake Medical Center, a small acute-care hospital with campuses in downtown Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, Laguna Honda itself was in scandal: from 2016 to 2019, staffers had sexually abused and photographed residents without their consent, abused residents verbally, made mistakes in medications and gave residents medicine that wasn’t prescribed to them in order to restrain them, \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6558487-7-12-19-Complaint-Survey-2567-1.html\">according to a state investigation\u003c/a>. Even after a high-profile press conference, regulators made immediate jeopardy findings last summer, indicating that patients weren’t yet safe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A criminal investigation into the abuse remains open; some staffers were fired.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In April, Phillips began transitioning into his new post: It’s a tough time to step into the job: the city and county of San Francisco \u003ca href=\"https://sfmayor.org/article/mayor-london-breed-announces-updated-budget-impacts-result-covid-19\">projects a $1.7 billion budget deficit\u003c/a>, not counting COVID-19 emergency response costs. Phillips acknowledges that Laguna Honda will likely need to tighten its finances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In no way will we be looking at patient care areas and anything that is there in place to support our residents,” Phillips said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Laguna Honda has stabilized an early outbreak of COVID-19, counting now 6 active cases of the virus among residents and staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About the prior patient abuse, Phillips says “bad things happen to good organizations.” He praises the facility’s current caregivers for their response to the virus — and he says he recognizes that the pandemic isn’t over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have some 780 residents,” says Phillips. “That makes our facility a prime target, if you will, if good processes and procedures are not in place.” His top goal: controlling the spread of COVID-19 and caring for people sickened by the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>3:06 p.m. This post has been updated to reflect a new number of active COVID-19 cases. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/science/1965287/laguna-hondas-new-ceo-hopes-to-focus-on-covid-19-care-not-past-scandal",
"authors": [
"11223"
],
"categories": [
"science_39",
"science_3890"
],
"tags": [
"science_4368"
],
"featImg": "science_1963817",
"label": "science"
},
"science_1965269": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "science_1965269",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "1965269",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1591036736000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1591036736,
"format": "standard",
"title": "For Black and Latino Communities, Trust Is an Issue for Coronavirus Testing, Contact Tracing",
"headTitle": "For Black and Latino Communities, Trust Is an Issue for Coronavirus Testing, Contact Tracing | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>In the city of Oakland, when census workers call residents, they’re on a dual mission. Not only do they ask if the individual has filled out a census card, they also ask whether that person wants to get tested for the coronavirus. If so, do they know where to go?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s extremely creative,” said Dr. Tony Iton, a senior vice president of the California Endowment. “They’re doing census outreach in populations that are the hardest to reach, which are exactly the same populations that are disproportionately impacted by COVID.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These are neighborhoods like \u003ca href=\"https://ac-hcsa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/332a092bbc3641bd9ec8373e7c7b5b3d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">East Oakland and the Fruitvale District\u003c/a>, home to predominantly African Americans and Latinos. And, since census workers tend to be local, people are essentially checking in on their neighbors, Iton said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As California and the rest of the nation grapple with the pandemic, one lesson has become painfully clear. While the virus can attack anyone at any time, some populations have been harder hit than others — and testing and contact tracing in these communities will likely take more effort, according to Iton and other public health experts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2020/05/california-coronavirus-contact-tracing-training/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Contact tracers\u003c/a> are workers trained to track down, interview and isolate people who have come in contact with an infected person.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Contact tracing, that’s never going to work, particularly in the African American community where trust is a big issue, if we don’t have a solution that works directly with the black community,” said Dr. Stephen Lockhart, chief medical officer with Sutter Health in Northern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Solutions need to rely on existing institutions and supports such as churches, barbershops and community leaders, Lockhart said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, Sutter Health published a Northern California \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00598\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">study\u003c/a> reinforcing what statewide data has shown — that coronavirus is taking a disproportionate \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-divide/2020/05/why-is-coronavirus-deadly-for-blacks-los-angeles/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">toll on African Americans.\u003c/a> According to the study, African Americans are almost three times as likely to be hospitalized for COVID-19 compared with non-Hispanic whites. And the majority, almost 70%, were tested in the hospital rather than in an outpatient setting, meaning it wasn’t until they were very sick that they got a diagnostic test.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Statewide, African Americans account for about 10% of coronavirus deaths, even though they make up only 6% of California’s population. Latinos make up more than half of the cases and about 38% of the deaths while they are 38.9% of the population, according to the California Department of Public Health, which tracks coronavirus cases and deaths \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/Race-Ethnicity.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">by race and ethnicity\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By comparison, whites make up about 21% of the cases, about 34% of the deaths and 36.6% of the state’s population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Iton, a former Alameda County public health officer, is among those trying to develop efficient contact tracing and testing among communities of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In order to minimize harm, Iton said, the state has to prioritize blanket testing, or test as many as possible — especially essential employees working in grocery stores and driving buses, as well as seniors. Outreach has to be persistent and aggressive, and contact tracing must be done in a culturally sensitive manner, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we do these things we would see disproportionality start to drop,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, contact tracers statewide are being pulled from a pool of city and county employees who aren’t working, such as librarians and property tax assessors. But as the economy opens up, they’ll return to work. Iton’s organization is working to assemble groups already working with African Americans and Latinos to help find local tracers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Doing contact tracing in populations where there are immigration issues or linguistic issues is harder and slower, so you’re going to need more of those kinds of workers,” Iton said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s goal is to initially hire about 10,000 contact tracers, but more may be needed if infections resurge as the state opens back up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s public health department said in an email that it has opened 80 testing sites specifically for communities where people are being disproportionately affected by COVID-19.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In setting up these sites with counties, the state considered the population size, number of cases, income (with a preference for lower incomes), population diversity (with a preference for more diverse communities) and percent of population in high-risk groups, the department said in the email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state also recently launched \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/05/22/governor-newsom-launches-california-connected-californias-contact-tracing-program-and-public-awareness-campaign/\">a PSA campaign\u003c/a> to educate people on the importance of contact tracing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m certainly not naive,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a press briefing last week. “When you get a call from some stranger on the phone saying they work with the government, not everybody is pleased to receive those calls.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some people may think the call is fraudulent, while others may be uncomfortable or reluctant to share information, he acknowledged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’re “translating not just documents in multiple languages, but getting trusted messengers from within communities to let folks know that it’s in not only their interest ,but their community and their loved ones’ interest, to work with these trained professionals and provide information in a confidential manner,” Newsom said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Solange Madriz is one of these contact tracers. She’s also an academic coordinator at UC San Francisco’s Institute for Global Health Sciences and helps with the training of other contact tracers and investigators. The university partnered with the state to build \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/05/417346/ucsf-partners-state-develop-public-health-workforce-covid-19-response\">a training program\u003c/a> for this workforce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The training is focused not just on the information, but how you deliver that information,” Madriz said. “This is sensitive for multiple reasons, we’re talking about disease, individuals have lost their jobs, so these conversations have to be done in a compassionate way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cultural elements play an important role, especially in a world where people are constantly getting scam calls, she said. Madriz, a Latina and Spanish-speaker, primarily calls other Spanish-speakers. With a few exceptions, most of the people she’s called so far have participated in the investigations, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The need for an appropriate response to the racial disparities of COVID-19 has led to the creation of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandca.gov/news/2020/local-leaders-announce-covid-19-racial-disparities-task-force\">special task force\u003c/a> in Alameda County. Iton is a co-chair, along with Assemblyman Rob Bonta, an Oakland Democrat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bonta said that while racial disparities in health have been persistent and well-documented for decades, the coronavirus pandemic has brought them into focus like never before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Poor health among communities of color in general has long been attributed to larger systemic issues, like poverty and racism. That and the prevalence of chronic conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes and asthma make black and Latino Californians more vulnerable to falling severely ill from COVID-19.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The pandemic lays bare the health disparities for everyone to see, you can’t ignore it,” Bonta said. This creates an opportunity to take action on things that once were only ideas, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, in absence of a vaccine — and until testing and competent contact tracing exists in Latino and black communities — some local leaders are urging others to stay put.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the Rev. Amos Brown, pastor at Third Baptist Church in San Francisco, receives phone calls from other faith leaders asking him whether they should reopen their doors, he tells them to “settle down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Black people are experiencing disproportionate death; we should not be rushing to these four-corner buildings and put ourselves in harm’s way,” said Brown, who is also the president of the San Francisco branch of the NAACP. Instead, he tells them to “be creative, be the church where the people are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://calmatters.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CalMatters.org\u003c/a> is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1340,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 35
},
"modified": 1704847354,
"excerpt": "Public health leaders try to tailor their response in California's communities of color, where the pandemic has been devastating.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "Public health leaders try to tailor their response in California's communities of color, where the pandemic has been devastating.",
"title": "For Black and Latino Communities, Trust Is an Issue for Coronavirus Testing, Contact Tracing | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "For Black and Latino Communities, Trust Is an Issue for Coronavirus Testing, Contact Tracing",
"datePublished": "2020-06-01T11:38:56-07:00",
"dateModified": "2024-01-09T16:42:34-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "for-black-and-latino-communities-trust-is-an-issue-for-coronavirus-testing-contact-tracing",
"status": "publish",
"nprByline": "Ana Ibarra \u003cbr />CalMatters\u003cbr>",
"sticky": false,
"source": "CalMatters",
"path": "/science/1965269/for-black-and-latino-communities-trust-is-an-issue-for-coronavirus-testing-contact-tracing",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In the city of Oakland, when census workers call residents, they’re on a dual mission. Not only do they ask if the individual has filled out a census card, they also ask whether that person wants to get tested for the coronavirus. If so, do they know where to go?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s extremely creative,” said Dr. Tony Iton, a senior vice president of the California Endowment. “They’re doing census outreach in populations that are the hardest to reach, which are exactly the same populations that are disproportionately impacted by COVID.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These are neighborhoods like \u003ca href=\"https://ac-hcsa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/332a092bbc3641bd9ec8373e7c7b5b3d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">East Oakland and the Fruitvale District\u003c/a>, home to predominantly African Americans and Latinos. And, since census workers tend to be local, people are essentially checking in on their neighbors, Iton said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As California and the rest of the nation grapple with the pandemic, one lesson has become painfully clear. While the virus can attack anyone at any time, some populations have been harder hit than others — and testing and contact tracing in these communities will likely take more effort, according to Iton and other public health experts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2020/05/california-coronavirus-contact-tracing-training/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Contact tracers\u003c/a> are workers trained to track down, interview and isolate people who have come in contact with an infected person.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Contact tracing, that’s never going to work, particularly in the African American community where trust is a big issue, if we don’t have a solution that works directly with the black community,” said Dr. Stephen Lockhart, chief medical officer with Sutter Health in Northern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Solutions need to rely on existing institutions and supports such as churches, barbershops and community leaders, Lockhart said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, Sutter Health published a Northern California \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00598\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">study\u003c/a> reinforcing what statewide data has shown — that coronavirus is taking a disproportionate \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-divide/2020/05/why-is-coronavirus-deadly-for-blacks-los-angeles/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">toll on African Americans.\u003c/a> According to the study, African Americans are almost three times as likely to be hospitalized for COVID-19 compared with non-Hispanic whites. And the majority, almost 70%, were tested in the hospital rather than in an outpatient setting, meaning it wasn’t until they were very sick that they got a diagnostic test.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Statewide, African Americans account for about 10% of coronavirus deaths, even though they make up only 6% of California’s population. Latinos make up more than half of the cases and about 38% of the deaths while they are 38.9% of the population, according to the California Department of Public Health, which tracks coronavirus cases and deaths \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/Race-Ethnicity.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">by race and ethnicity\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By comparison, whites make up about 21% of the cases, about 34% of the deaths and 36.6% of the state’s population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Iton, a former Alameda County public health officer, is among those trying to develop efficient contact tracing and testing among communities of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In order to minimize harm, Iton said, the state has to prioritize blanket testing, or test as many as possible — especially essential employees working in grocery stores and driving buses, as well as seniors. Outreach has to be persistent and aggressive, and contact tracing must be done in a culturally sensitive manner, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we do these things we would see disproportionality start to drop,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, contact tracers statewide are being pulled from a pool of city and county employees who aren’t working, such as librarians and property tax assessors. But as the economy opens up, they’ll return to work. Iton’s organization is working to assemble groups already working with African Americans and Latinos to help find local tracers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Doing contact tracing in populations where there are immigration issues or linguistic issues is harder and slower, so you’re going to need more of those kinds of workers,” Iton said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s goal is to initially hire about 10,000 contact tracers, but more may be needed if infections resurge as the state opens back up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s public health department said in an email that it has opened 80 testing sites specifically for communities where people are being disproportionately affected by COVID-19.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In setting up these sites with counties, the state considered the population size, number of cases, income (with a preference for lower incomes), population diversity (with a preference for more diverse communities) and percent of population in high-risk groups, the department said in the email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state also recently launched \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/05/22/governor-newsom-launches-california-connected-californias-contact-tracing-program-and-public-awareness-campaign/\">a PSA campaign\u003c/a> to educate people on the importance of contact tracing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m certainly not naive,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a press briefing last week. “When you get a call from some stranger on the phone saying they work with the government, not everybody is pleased to receive those calls.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some people may think the call is fraudulent, while others may be uncomfortable or reluctant to share information, he acknowledged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’re “translating not just documents in multiple languages, but getting trusted messengers from within communities to let folks know that it’s in not only their interest ,but their community and their loved ones’ interest, to work with these trained professionals and provide information in a confidential manner,” Newsom said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Solange Madriz is one of these contact tracers. She’s also an academic coordinator at UC San Francisco’s Institute for Global Health Sciences and helps with the training of other contact tracers and investigators. The university partnered with the state to build \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/05/417346/ucsf-partners-state-develop-public-health-workforce-covid-19-response\">a training program\u003c/a> for this workforce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The training is focused not just on the information, but how you deliver that information,” Madriz said. “This is sensitive for multiple reasons, we’re talking about disease, individuals have lost their jobs, so these conversations have to be done in a compassionate way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cultural elements play an important role, especially in a world where people are constantly getting scam calls, she said. Madriz, a Latina and Spanish-speaker, primarily calls other Spanish-speakers. With a few exceptions, most of the people she’s called so far have participated in the investigations, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The need for an appropriate response to the racial disparities of COVID-19 has led to the creation of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandca.gov/news/2020/local-leaders-announce-covid-19-racial-disparities-task-force\">special task force\u003c/a> in Alameda County. Iton is a co-chair, along with Assemblyman Rob Bonta, an Oakland Democrat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bonta said that while racial disparities in health have been persistent and well-documented for decades, the coronavirus pandemic has brought them into focus like never before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Poor health among communities of color in general has long been attributed to larger systemic issues, like poverty and racism. That and the prevalence of chronic conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes and asthma make black and Latino Californians more vulnerable to falling severely ill from COVID-19.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The pandemic lays bare the health disparities for everyone to see, you can’t ignore it,” Bonta said. This creates an opportunity to take action on things that once were only ideas, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, in absence of a vaccine — and until testing and competent contact tracing exists in Latino and black communities — some local leaders are urging others to stay put.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the Rev. Amos Brown, pastor at Third Baptist Church in San Francisco, receives phone calls from other faith leaders asking him whether they should reopen their doors, he tells them to “settle down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Black people are experiencing disproportionate death; we should not be rushing to these four-corner buildings and put ourselves in harm’s way,” said Brown, who is also the president of the San Francisco branch of the NAACP. Instead, he tells them to “be creative, be the church where the people are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://calmatters.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CalMatters.org\u003c/a> is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/science/1965269/for-black-and-latino-communities-trust-is-an-issue-for-coronavirus-testing-contact-tracing",
"authors": [
"byline_science_1965269"
],
"categories": [
"science_39",
"science_3890",
"science_40",
"science_4450"
],
"tags": [
"science_3969"
],
"featImg": "science_1965270",
"label": "source_science_1965269"
}
},
"podcastsReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": false,
"podcasts": {}
},
"radioProgramsReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": false,
"radioPrograms": {}
},
"radioSearchSegmentsReducer": {},
"programsReducer": {
"all-things-considered": {
"id": "all-things-considered",
"title": "All Things Considered",
"info": "Every weekday, \u003cem>All Things Considered\u003c/em> hosts Robert Siegel, Audie Cornish, Ari Shapiro, and Kelly McEvers present the program's trademark mix of news, interviews, commentaries, reviews, and offbeat features. Michel Martin hosts on the weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 1pm-2pm, 4:30pm-6:30pm\u003cbr />SAT-SUN 5pm-6pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/All-Things-Considered-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/all-things-considered"
},
"american-suburb-podcast": {
"id": "american-suburb-podcast",
"title": "American Suburb: The Podcast",
"tagline": "The flip side of gentrification, told through one town",
"info": "Gentrification is changing cities across America, forcing people from neighborhoods they have long called home. Call them the displaced. Now those priced out of the Bay Area are looking for a better life in an unlikely place. American Suburb follows this migration to one California town along the Delta, 45 miles from San Francisco. But is this once sleepy suburb ready for them?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/American-Suburb-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/american-suburb-podcast",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 19
},
"link": "/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/RBrW",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=1287748328",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/American-Suburb-p1086805/",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/feed/podcast",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkMzMDExODgxNjA5"
}
},
"baycurious": {
"id": "baycurious",
"title": "Bay Curious",
"tagline": "Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time",
"info": "KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bay-Curious-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Bay Curious",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/baycurious",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 3
},
"link": "/podcasts/baycurious",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/category/bay-curious-podcast/feed/podcast",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9a90d476-aa04-455d-9a4c-0871ed6216d4/bay-curious",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/bay-curious",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/6O76IdmhixfijmhTZLIJ8k"
}
},
"bbc-world-service": {
"id": "bbc-world-service",
"title": "BBC World Service",
"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_world_service",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "BBC World Service"
},
"link": "/radio/program/bbc-world-service",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/global-news-podcast/id135067274?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/BBC-World-Service-p455581/",
"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
}
},
"californiareport": {
"id": "californiareport",
"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The California Report",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-the-california-report/id79681292",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/26099305-72af-4542-9dde-ac1807fe36d5/kqed-s-the-california-report",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432285393/the-california-report",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqedfm-kqeds-the-california-report-podcast-8838",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcram/feed/podcast"
}
},
"californiareportmagazine": {
"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Magazine-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The California Report Magazine",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 10
},
"link": "/californiareportmagazine",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-california-report-magazine/id1314750545",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/564733126/the-california-report-magazine",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-california-report-magazine",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcrmag/feed/podcast"
}
},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
"id": "closealltabs",
"title": "Close All Tabs",
"tagline": "Your irreverent guide to the trends redefining our world",
"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CAT_2_Tile-scaled.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Close All Tabs",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 1
},
"link": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/close-all-tabs/id214663465",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC6993880386",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/92d9d4ac-67a3-4eed-b10a-fb45d45b1ef2/close-all-tabs",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/6LAJFHnGK1pYXYzv6SIol6?si=deb0cae19813417c"
}
},
"code-switch-life-kit": {
"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
"airtime": "SUN 9pm-10pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Code-Switch-Life-Kit-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/code-switch-life-kit",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/1112190608?mt=2&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3bExJ9JQpkwNhoHvaIIuyV",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510312/podcast.xml"
}
},
"commonwealth-club": {
"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.commonwealthclub.org/podcasts",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Commonwealth-Club-of-California-p1060/"
}
},
"forum": {
"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/forum",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
"link": "/forum",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-forum/id73329719",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432307980/forum",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqedfm-kqeds-forum-podcast",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC9557381633"
}
},
"freakonomics-radio": {
"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
}
},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 7pm-8pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Fresh-Air-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Fresh-Air-p17/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
}
},
"here-and-now": {
"id": "here-and-now",
"title": "Here & Now",
"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
"airtime": "MON-THU 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Here-And-Now-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/here-and-now",
"subsdcribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=426698661",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Here--Now-p211/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
}
},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/hiddenbrain.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-brain/id1028908750?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Hidden-Brain-p787503/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510308/podcast.xml"
}
},
"how-i-built-this": {
"id": "how-i-built-this",
"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/How-I-Built-This-p910896/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510313/podcast.xml"
}
},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
"imageAlt": "KQED Hyphenación",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hyphenaci%C3%B3n/id1191591838",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
"youtube": "https://www.youtube.com/c/kqedarts",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6c3dd23c-93fb-4aab-97ba-1725fa6315f1/hyphenaci%C3%B3n",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC2275451163"
}
},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/790253322/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/jerrybrown/feed/podcast/",
"tuneIn": "http://tun.in/pjGcK",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/54C1dmuyFyKMFttY6X2j6r?si=K8SgRCoISNK6ZbjpXrX5-w",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/44420f75-3b0e-4301-ab3b-16da6b09e543/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown"
}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/xtTd",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Latino-USA-p621/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=201853034&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/APM-Marketplace-p88/",
"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindshift-podcast/id1078765985",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0MxSpNYZKNprFLCl7eEtyx"
}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/onourwatch",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0OLWoyizopu6tY1XiuX70x",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-Our-Watch-p1436229/",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/show/on-our-watch",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "pbs"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
}
},
"perspectives": {
"id": "perspectives",
"title": "Perspectives",
"tagline": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991",
"info": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Perspectives_Tile_Final.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Perspectives",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/perspectives/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 14
},
"link": "/perspectives",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id73801135",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432309616/perspectives",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/perspectives/category/perspectives/feed/",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvcGVyc3BlY3RpdmVzL2NhdGVnb3J5L3BlcnNwZWN0aXZlcy9mZWVkLw"
}
},
"planet-money": {
"id": "planet-money",
"title": "Planet Money",
"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/money/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/planet-money",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/M4f5",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business--Economics-Podcasts/Planet-Money-p164680/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510289/podcast.xml"
}
},
"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Political-Breakdown-2024-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Political Breakdown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 5
},
"link": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-breakdown/id1327641087",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/e0c2d153-ad36-4c8d-901d-f1da6a724824/political-breakdown",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/572155894/political-breakdown",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/political-breakdown",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/07RVyIjIdk2WDuVehvBMoN",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/political-breakdown/feed/podcast"
}
},
"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.possible.fm/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Possible"
},
"link": "/radio/program/possible",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/possible/id1677184070",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k"
}
},
"pri-the-world": {
"id": "pri-the-world",
"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pri.org/programs/the-world",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "PRI"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pri-the-world",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pris-the-world-latest-edition/id278196007?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/PRIs-The-World-p24/",
"rss": "http://feeds.feedburner.com/pri/theworld"
}
},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
"airtime": "SUN 12am-1am, SAT 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/radiolab1400.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/radiolab/",
"meta": {
"site": "science",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/radiolab",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radiolab/id152249110?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/RadioLab-p68032/",
"rss": "https://feeds.wnyc.org/radiolab"
}
},
"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
"airtime": "SAT 4pm-5pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/reveal300px.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/reveal",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/reveal/id886009669",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Reveal-p679597/",
"rss": "http://feeds.revealradio.org/revealpodcast"
}
},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rightnowish-Podcast-Tile-500x500-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Rightnowish with Pendarvis Harshaw",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/rightnowish",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 16
},
"link": "/podcasts/rightnowish",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/programs/rightnowish/feed/podcast",
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkMxMjU5MTY3NDc4",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I"
}
},
"science-friday": {
"id": "science-friday",
"title": "Science Friday",
"info": "Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide. Each week, the show focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join host Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.",
"airtime": "FRI 11am-1pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Science-Friday-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/science-friday",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/science-friday",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=73329284&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Science-Friday-p394/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/science-friday"
}
},
"snap-judgment": {
"id": "snap-judgment",
"title": "Snap Judgment",
"tagline": "Real stories with killer beats",
"info": "The Snap Judgment radio show and podcast mixes real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic radio. Snap's musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see the world through the eyes of another. This is storytelling... with a BEAT!! Snap first aired on public radio stations nationwide in July 2010. Today, Snap Judgment airs on over 450 public radio stations and is brought to the airwaves by KQED & PRX.",
"airtime": "SAT 1pm-2pm, 9pm-10pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Snap-Judgment-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Snap Judgment",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://snapjudgment.org",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 4
},
"link": "https://snapjudgment.org",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/snap-judgment/id283657561",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/449018144/snap-judgment",
"stitcher": "https://www.pandora.com/podcast/snap-judgment/PC:241?source=stitcher-sunset",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3Cct7ZWmxHNAtLgBTqjC5v",
"rss": "https://snap.feed.snapjudgment.org/"
}
},
"soldout": {
"id": "soldout",
"title": "SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America",
"tagline": "A new future for housing",
"info": "Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Sold-Out-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/soldout",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 13
},
"link": "/podcasts/soldout",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/911586047/s-o-l-d-o-u-t-a-new-future-for-housing",
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/introducing-sold-out-rethinking-housing-in-america/id1531354937",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/soldout",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/38dTBSk2ISFoPiyYNoKn1X",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/sold-out-rethinking-housing-in-america",
"tunein": "https://tunein.com/radio/SOLD-OUT-Rethinking-Housing-in-America-p1365871/"
}
},
"spooked": {
"id": "spooked",
"title": "Spooked",
"tagline": "True-life supernatural stories",
"info": "",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Spooked-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Spooked",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://spookedpodcast.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 7
},
"link": "https://spookedpodcast.org/",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spooked/id1279361017",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/549547848/snap-judgment-presents-spooked",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/76571Rfl3m7PLJQZKQIGCT",
"rss": "https://feeds.simplecast.com/TBotaapn"
}
},
"tech-nation": {
"id": "tech-nation",
"title": "Tech Nation Radio Podcast",
"info": "Tech Nation is a weekly public radio program, hosted by Dr. Moira Gunn. Founded in 1993, it has grown from a simple interview show to a multi-faceted production, featuring conversations with noted technology and science leaders, and a weekly science and technology-related commentary.",
"airtime": "FRI 10pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Tech-Nation-Radio-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://technation.podomatic.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "science",
"source": "Tech Nation Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/tech-nation",
"subscribe": {
"rss": "https://technation.podomatic.com/rss2.xml"
}
},
"ted-radio-hour": {
"id": "ted-radio-hour",
"title": "TED Radio Hour",
"info": "The TED Radio Hour is a journey through fascinating ideas, astonishing inventions, fresh approaches to old problems, and new ways to think and create.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm, SAT 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/tedRadioHour.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/?showDate=2018-06-22",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/ted-radio-hour",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/8vsS",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=523121474&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/TED-Radio-Hour-p418021/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510298/podcast.xml"
}
},
"thebay": {
"id": "thebay",
"title": "The Bay",
"tagline": "Local news to keep you rooted",
"info": "Host Devin Katayama walks you through the biggest story of the day with reporters and newsmakers.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Bay-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Bay",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/thebay",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 2
},
"link": "/podcasts/thebay",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bay/id1350043452",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/d800ea4c-7a2c-42f2-b861-edaf78a5db0b/the-bay",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/586725995/the-bay",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-bay",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/4BIKBKIujizLHlIlBNaAqQ",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC8259786327"
}
},
"thelatest": {
"id": "thelatest",
"title": "The Latest",
"tagline": "Trusted local news in real time",
"info": "",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/The-Latest-2025-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Latest",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/thelatest",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 6
},
"link": "/thelatest",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-latest-from-kqed/id1197721799",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/1257949365/the-latest-from-k-q-e-d",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/5KIIXMgM9GTi5AepwOYvIZ?si=bd3053fec7244dba",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC9137121918"
}
},
"theleap": {
"id": "theleap",
"title": "The Leap",
"tagline": "What if you closed your eyes, and jumped?",
"info": "Stories about people making dramatic, risky changes, told by award-winning public radio reporter Judy Campbell.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Leap-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Leap",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/theleap",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 17
},
"link": "/podcasts/theleap",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-leap/id1046668171",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/447248267/the-leap",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-leap",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3sSlVHHzU0ytLwuGs1SD1U",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/programs/the-leap/feed/podcast"
}
},
"the-moth-radio-hour": {
"id": "the-moth-radio-hour",
"title": "The Moth Radio Hour",
"info": "Since its launch in 1997, The Moth has presented thousands of true stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. Moth storytellers stand alone, under a spotlight, with only a microphone and a roomful of strangers. The storyteller and the audience embark on a high-wire act of shared experience which is both terrifying and exhilarating. Since 2008, The Moth podcast has featured many of our favorite stories told live on Moth stages around the country. For information on all of our programs and live events, visit themoth.org.",
"airtime": "SAT 8pm-9pm and SUN 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/theMoth.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://themoth.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "prx"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-moth-radio-hour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-moth-podcast/id275699983?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/The-Moth-p273888/",
"rss": "http://feeds.themoth.org/themothpodcast"
}
},
"the-new-yorker-radio-hour": {
"id": "the-new-yorker-radio-hour",
"title": "The New Yorker Radio Hour",
"info": "The New Yorker Radio Hour is a weekly program presented by the magazine's editor, David Remnick, and produced by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. Each episode features a diverse mix of interviews, profiles, storytelling, and an occasional burst of humor inspired by the magazine, and shaped by its writers, artists, and editors. This isn't a radio version of a magazine, but something all its own, reflecting the rich possibilities of audio storytelling and conversation. Theme music for the show was composed and performed by Merrill Garbus of tUnE-YArDs.",
"airtime": "SAT 10am-11am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-New-Yorker-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/tnyradiohour",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-new-yorker-radio-hour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1050430296",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/New-Yorker-Radio-Hour-p803804/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/newyorkerradiohour"
}
},
"the-sam-sanders-show": {
"id": "the-sam-sanders-show",
"title": "The Sam Sanders Show",
"info": "One of public radio's most dynamic voices, Sam Sanders helped launch The NPR Politics Podcast and hosted NPR's hit show It's Been A Minute. Now, the award-winning host returns with something brand new, The Sam Sanders Show. Every week, Sam Sanders and friends dig into the culture that shapes our lives: what's driving the biggest trends, how artists really think, and even the memes you can't stop scrolling past. Sam is beloved for his way of unpacking the world and bringing you up close to fresh currents and engaging conversations. The Sam Sanders Show is smart, funny and always a good time.",
"airtime": "FRI 12-1pm AND SAT 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/The-Sam-Sanders-Show-Podcast-Tile-400x400-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.kcrw.com/shows/the-sam-sanders-show/latest",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "KCRW"
},
"link": "https://www.kcrw.com/shows/the-sam-sanders-show/latest",
"subscribe": {
"rss": "https://feed.cdnstream1.com/zjb/feed/download/ac/28/59/ac28594c-e1d0-4231-8728-61865cdc80e8.xml"
}
},
"the-splendid-table": {
"id": "the-splendid-table",
"title": "The Splendid Table",
"info": "\u003cem>The Splendid Table\u003c/em> hosts our nation's conversations about cooking, sustainability and food culture.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Splendid-Table-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.splendidtable.org/",
"airtime": "SUN 10-11 pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-splendid-table"
},
"this-american-life": {
"id": "this-american-life",
"title": "This American Life",
"info": "This American Life is a weekly public radio show, heard by 2.2 million people on more than 500 stations. Another 2.5 million people download the weekly podcast. It is hosted by Ira Glass, produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media, delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange, and has won all of the major broadcasting awards.",
"airtime": "SAT 12pm-1pm, 7pm-8pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/thisAmericanLife.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.thisamericanlife.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "wbez"
},
"link": "/radio/program/this-american-life",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=201671138&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"rss": "https://www.thisamericanlife.org/podcast/rss.xml"
}
},
"tinydeskradio": {
"id": "tinydeskradio",
"title": "Tiny Desk Radio",
"info": "We're bringing the best of Tiny Desk to the airwaves, only on public radio.",
"airtime": "SUN 8pm and SAT 9pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/300x300-For-Member-Station-Logo-Tiny-Desk-Radio-@2x.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/g-s1-52030/tiny-desk-radio",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/tinydeskradio",
"subscribe": {
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/g-s1-52030/rss.xml"
}
},
"wait-wait-dont-tell-me": {
"id": "wait-wait-dont-tell-me",
"title": "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!",
"info": "Peter Sagal and Bill Kurtis host the weekly NPR News quiz show alongside some of the best and brightest news and entertainment personalities.",
"airtime": "SUN 10am-11am, SAT 11am-12pm, SAT 6pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Wait-Wait-Podcast-Tile-300x300-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/wait-wait-dont-tell-me",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/Xogv",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=121493804&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Wait-Wait-Dont-Tell-Me-p46/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/344098539/podcast.xml"
}
},
"weekend-edition-saturday": {
"id": "weekend-edition-saturday",
"title": "Weekend Edition Saturday",
"info": "Weekend Edition Saturday wraps up the week's news and offers a mix of analysis and features on a wide range of topics, including arts, sports, entertainment, and human interest stories. The two-hour program is hosted by NPR's Peabody Award-winning Scott Simon.",
"airtime": "SAT 5am-10am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Weekend-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-saturday/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/weekend-edition-saturday"
},
"weekend-edition-sunday": {
"id": "weekend-edition-sunday",
"title": "Weekend Edition Sunday",
"info": "Weekend Edition Sunday features interviews with newsmakers, artists, scientists, politicians, musicians, writers, theologians and historians. The program has covered news events from Nelson Mandela's 1990 release from a South African prison to the capture of Saddam Hussein.",
"airtime": "SUN 5am-10am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Weekend-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-sunday/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/weekend-edition-sunday"
}
},
"racesReducer": {},
"racesGenElectionReducer": {},
"racesGenElection2026Reducer": {},
"racesGenElection2026PresidentialReducer": {},
"radioSchedulesReducer": {},
"listsReducer": {
"posts/science?category=medical-science": {
"isFetching": false,
"latestQuery": {
"from": 96,
"size": 12
},
"vitalsOnly": false,
"totalRequested": 12,
"isLoading": false,
"isLoadingMore": true,
"total": {
"value": 228,
"relation": "eq"
},
"items": [
"science_1966181",
"science_1966149",
"science_1966047",
"science_1965993",
"science_1964968",
"science_1965816",
"science_1965744",
"science_1965688",
"science_1965648",
"science_1965321",
"science_1965287",
"science_1965269"
],
"complete": true
}
},
"recallGuideReducer": {
"intros": {},
"policy": {},
"candidates": {}
},
"savedArticleReducer": {
"articles": [],
"status": {}
},
"newslettersReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": false,
"newsletters": {},
"isSubscribing": false,
"isUnsubscribing": false,
"subscribedNewsletters": {}
},
"termsReducer": {
"about": {
"name": "About",
"type": "terms",
"id": "about",
"slug": "about",
"link": "/about",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"arts": {
"name": "Arts & Culture",
"grouping": [
"arts",
"pop",
"trulyca"
],
"description": "KQED Arts provides daily in-depth coverage of the Bay Area's music, art, film, performing arts, literature and arts news, as well as cultural commentary and criticism.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "arts",
"slug": "arts",
"link": "/arts",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"artschool": {
"name": "Art School",
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "artschool",
"slug": "artschool",
"link": "/artschool",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"bayareabites": {
"name": "KQED food",
"grouping": [
"food",
"bayareabites",
"checkplease"
],
"parent": "food",
"type": "terms",
"id": "bayareabites",
"slug": "bayareabites",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"bayareahiphop": {
"name": "Bay Area Hiphop",
"type": "terms",
"id": "bayareahiphop",
"slug": "bayareahiphop",
"link": "/bayareahiphop",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"campaign21": {
"name": "Campaign 21",
"type": "terms",
"id": "campaign21",
"slug": "campaign21",
"link": "/campaign21",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"careers": {
"name": "Careers",
"type": "terms",
"id": "careers",
"slug": "careers",
"link": "/careers",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"checkplease": {
"name": "KQED food",
"grouping": [
"food",
"bayareabites",
"checkplease"
],
"parent": "food",
"type": "terms",
"id": "checkplease",
"slug": "checkplease",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"education": {
"name": "Education",
"grouping": [
"education"
],
"type": "terms",
"id": "education",
"slug": "education",
"link": "/education",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"elections": {
"name": "Elections",
"type": "terms",
"id": "elections",
"slug": "elections",
"link": "/elections",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"events": {
"name": "Events",
"type": "terms",
"id": "events",
"slug": "events",
"link": "/events",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"event": {
"name": "Event",
"alias": "events",
"type": "terms",
"id": "event",
"slug": "event",
"link": "/event",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"filmschoolshorts": {
"name": "Film School Shorts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "filmschoolshorts",
"slug": "filmschoolshorts",
"link": "/filmschoolshorts",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"food": {
"name": "KQED food",
"grouping": [
"food",
"bayareabites",
"checkplease"
],
"type": "terms",
"id": "food",
"slug": "food",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"forum": {
"name": "Forum",
"relatedContentQuery": "posts/forum?",
"parent": "news",
"type": "terms",
"id": "forum",
"slug": "forum",
"link": "/forum",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"futureofyou": {
"name": "Future of You",
"grouping": [
"science",
"futureofyou"
],
"parent": "science",
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou",
"slug": "futureofyou",
"link": "/futureofyou",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"jpepinheart": {
"name": "KQED food",
"relatedContentQuery": "posts/food,bayareabites,checkplease",
"parent": "food",
"type": "terms",
"id": "jpepinheart",
"slug": "jpepinheart",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"liveblog": {
"name": "Live Blog",
"type": "terms",
"id": "liveblog",
"slug": "liveblog",
"link": "/liveblog",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"livetv": {
"name": "Live TV",
"parent": "tv",
"type": "terms",
"id": "livetv",
"slug": "livetv",
"link": "/livetv",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"lowdown": {
"name": "The Lowdown",
"relatedContentQuery": "posts/lowdown?",
"parent": "news",
"type": "terms",
"id": "lowdown",
"slug": "lowdown",
"link": "/lowdown",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"mindshift": {
"name": "Mindshift",
"parent": "news",
"description": "MindShift explores the future of education by highlighting the innovative – and sometimes counterintuitive – ways educators and parents are helping all children succeed.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "mindshift",
"slug": "mindshift",
"link": "/mindshift",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"news": {
"name": "News",
"grouping": [
"news",
"forum"
],
"type": "terms",
"id": "news",
"slug": "news",
"link": "/news",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"newsletters": {
"name": "newsletters",
"type": "terms",
"id": "newsletters",
"slug": "newsletters",
"link": "/newsletters",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"perspectives": {
"name": "Perspectives",
"parent": "radio",
"type": "terms",
"id": "perspectives",
"slug": "perspectives",
"link": "/perspectives",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"podcasts": {
"name": "Podcasts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "podcasts",
"slug": "podcasts",
"link": "/podcasts",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"pop": {
"name": "Pop",
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop",
"slug": "pop",
"link": "/pop",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"pressroom": {
"name": "Pressroom",
"type": "terms",
"id": "pressroom",
"slug": "pressroom",
"link": "/pressroom",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"quest": {
"name": "Quest",
"parent": "science",
"type": "terms",
"id": "quest",
"slug": "quest",
"link": "/quest",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"radio": {
"name": "Radio",
"grouping": [
"forum",
"perspectives"
],
"description": "Listen to KQED Public Radio – home of Forum and The California Report – on 88.5 FM in San Francisco, 89.3 FM in Sacramento, 88.3 FM in Santa Rosa and 88.1 FM in Martinez.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "radio",
"slug": "radio",
"link": "/radio",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"root": {
"name": "KQED",
"image": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"imageWidth": 1200,
"imageHeight": 630,
"headData": {
"title": "KQED | News, Radio, Podcasts, TV | Public Media for Northern California",
"description": "KQED provides public radio, television, and independent reporting on issues that matter to the Bay Area. We’re the NPR and PBS member station for Northern California."
},
"type": "terms",
"id": "root",
"slug": "root",
"link": "/root",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"science": {
"name": "Science",
"grouping": [
"science",
"futureofyou"
],
"description": "KQED Science brings you award-winning science and environment coverage from the Bay Area and beyond.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "science",
"slug": "science",
"link": "/science",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"stateofhealth": {
"name": "State of Health",
"parent": "science",
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth",
"slug": "stateofhealth",
"link": "/stateofhealth",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"support": {
"name": "Support",
"type": "terms",
"id": "support",
"slug": "support",
"link": "/support",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"thedolist": {
"name": "The Do List",
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "thedolist",
"slug": "thedolist",
"link": "/thedolist",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"trulyca": {
"name": "Truly CA",
"grouping": [
"arts",
"pop",
"trulyca"
],
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "trulyca",
"slug": "trulyca",
"link": "/trulyca",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"tv": {
"name": "TV",
"type": "terms",
"id": "tv",
"slug": "tv",
"link": "/tv",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"voterguide": {
"name": "Voter Guide",
"parent": "elections",
"alias": "elections",
"type": "terms",
"id": "voterguide",
"slug": "voterguide",
"link": "/voterguide",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"guiaelectoral": {
"name": "Guia Electoral",
"parent": "elections",
"alias": "elections",
"type": "terms",
"id": "guiaelectoral",
"slug": "guiaelectoral",
"link": "/guiaelectoral",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"science_category_medical-science": {
"isLoading": true
},
"science_3890": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_3890",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "3890",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Medical Science",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Medical Science Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3890,
"slug": "medical-science",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/science/category/medical-science"
},
"source_science_1966181": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_science_1966181",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "Coronavirus",
"isLoading": false
},
"source_science_1966149": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_science_1966149",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "Coronavirus",
"link": "https://www.kqed.org/science/tag/coronavirus",
"isLoading": false
},
"source_science_1966047": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_science_1966047",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "CalMatters",
"isLoading": false
},
"source_science_1965993": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_science_1965993",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "STAT",
"isLoading": false
},
"source_science_1964968": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_science_1964968",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "Coronavirus",
"isLoading": false
},
"source_science_1965816": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_science_1965816",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "STAT",
"isLoading": false
},
"source_science_1965744": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_science_1965744",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "NPR",
"isLoading": false
},
"source_science_1965688": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_science_1965688",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "Coronavirus",
"isLoading": false
},
"source_science_1965648": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_science_1965648",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "STAT ",
"isLoading": false
},
"source_science_1965321": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_science_1965321",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "Coronavirus",
"isLoading": false
},
"source_science_1965269": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_science_1965269",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "CalMatters",
"isLoading": false
},
"science_39": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_39",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "39",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Health",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Health Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 41,
"slug": "health",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/science/category/health"
},
"science_40": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_40",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "40",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "News",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "News Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 42,
"slug": "news",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/science/category/news"
},
"science_4450": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_4450",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "4450",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Science",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Science Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 4450,
"slug": "science",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/science/category/science"
},
"science_4329": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_4329",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "4329",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Coronavirus",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Coronavirus Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 4329,
"slug": "coronavirus",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/science/tag/coronavirus"
},
"science_5181": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_5181",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "5181",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "health",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "health Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 5181,
"slug": "health",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/science/tag/health"
},
"science_32": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_32",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "32",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Education",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Education Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 34,
"slug": "education",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/science/category/education"
},
"science_512": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_512",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "512",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "children",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "children Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 518,
"slug": "children",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/science/tag/children"
},
"science_4414": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_4414",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "4414",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "featured-science",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "featured-science Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 4414,
"slug": "featured-science",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/science/tag/featured-science"
},
"science_3977": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_3977",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "3977",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "STAT",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "STAT Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3977,
"slug": "stat",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/science/tag/stat"
},
"science_31": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_31",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "31",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Climate",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Climate Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 33,
"slug": "climate",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/science/category/climate"
},
"science_3730": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_3730",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "3730",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Wildfires",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Wildfires Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3730,
"slug": "wildfires",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/science/category/wildfires"
},
"science_113": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_113",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "113",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "wildfire",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "wildfire Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 117,
"slug": "wildfire",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/science/tag/wildfire"
},
"science_4368": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_4368",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "4368",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "COVID-19",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "COVID-19 Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 4368,
"slug": "covid-19",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/science/tag/covid-19"
},
"science_3969": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "science_3969",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "science",
"id": "3969",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "CALMATTERS",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "CALMATTERS Archives | KQED Science",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 3969,
"slug": "calmatters",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/science/tag/calmatters"
}
},
"userPermissionsReducer": {
"wpLoggedIn": false
},
"eventsReducer": {},
"fssReducer": {},
"tvDailyScheduleReducer": {},
"tvWeeklyScheduleReducer": {},
"tvPrimetimeScheduleReducer": {},
"tvMonthlyScheduleReducer": {},
"userAccountReducer": {
"user": {
"email": null,
"emailStatus": "EMAIL_UNVALIDATED",
"loggedStatus": "LOGGED_OUT",
"loggingChecked": false,
"articles": [],
"firstName": null,
"lastName": null,
"phoneNumber": null,
"fetchingMembership": false,
"membershipError": false,
"memberships": [
{
"id": null,
"startDate": null,
"firstName": null,
"lastName": null,
"familyNumber": null,
"memberNumber": null,
"memberSince": null,
"expirationDate": null,
"pfsEligible": false,
"isSustaining": false,
"membershipLevel": "Prospect",
"membershipStatus": "Non Member",
"lastGiftDate": null,
"renewalDate": null,
"lastDonationAmount": null
}
]
},
"authModal": {
"isOpen": false,
"view": "LANDING_VIEW"
},
"error": null
},
"youthMediaReducer": {},
"checkPleaseReducer": {
"filterData": {
"region": {
"key": "Restaurant Region",
"filters": [
"Any Region"
]
},
"cuisine": {
"key": "Restaurant Cuisine",
"filters": [
"Any Cuisine"
]
}
},
"restaurantDataById": {},
"restaurantIdsSorted": [],
"error": null
},
"userAgentReducer": {
"userAgent": "Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)",
"isBot": true
},
"requestOutcomesReducer": {
"notFound": []
},
"navPromosReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": true,
"promos": {
"news": {
"name": "2026 Voter Guide",
"link": "/voterguide",
"imageURL": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Nav-News-Nov2026ElectionCoverage@2x-7bd4aad4.png",
"description": "Get informed in minutes with our Voter Guide for California’s November 3 election."
},
"podcasts-radio": {},
"video-tv": {},
"events": {},
"support": {}
}
}
}