COVID Variants And Vaccines, U.S. Energy Justice. Feb 5, 2021, Part 1

Science Friday

Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science, Life Sciences, Wnyc, Natural Sciences, Friday

4.4 • 6.3K Ratings

🗓️ 5 February 2021

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Will Vaccines Work Against New Variants Of The Coronavirus? The rollout of COVID-19 vaccination programs around the world has been anything but smooth. Complicating the effort is the virus itself. The original coronavirus genome that the current vaccines were based on has mutated. Now, there are three virus variants, and experts are somewhat concerned. How will the vaccines scientists have worked so hard to make fare against these three variants, and future ones? Stephen Goldstein, post-doctoral researcher in evolutionary virology at the University of Utah, joins Ira to talk about what the new numbers on vaccine effectiveness against these variants really mean. This Biden Appointee Is Bringing Justice To Green Energy President Joe Biden has the most ambitious climate change agenda of any U.S. president in history. A large part of the plan is a shift away from fossil fuels to clean energy, like wind and solar power. A new member of Biden’s energy team wants to prioritize something we don’t normally hear from the federal government: energy justice, or making sure communities aren’t left behind, or stepped on, in pursuit of a greener world. Shalanda Baker, deputy director for energy justice at the U.S. Department of Energy and law professor on leave at Northeastern University in Boston, joins Ira to talk about equitable energy, “The Big Greens,” and her new book, Revolutionary Power: An Activist’s Guide to the Energy Transition. The Thinking Behind New Double-Masking Recommendations If you’re at the grocery store or taking a walk in the brisk winter air, you might see someone sporting the new pandemic trend—double masks. Sometimes it’s a cloth mask over an N95; sometimes it’s two fabric masks layered together. And it’s not because it’s cold out (although the extra warmth is nice). This week the CDC says it’s considering updating its masking guidelines to include wearing two masks, to protect against new, more contagious variants of the coronavirus. Sarah Zhang, staff writer for The Atlantic, joins Ira to discuss whether two masks are really better than one. Plus, how the U.K. is studying whether mixing Astrazeneca’s new vaccine with a dose of Pfizer or Moderna’s formula might actually be more effective at obtaining immunity.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This is Science Friday. I'm Ira Flato. A bit later in the hour, how effective will vaccines be
0:06.4	against new variants of the coronavirus? But first, if you're out at the grocery store or taking a walk,
0:13.3	you might see someone sporting the new pandemic trend, double masks. Sometimes it's a cloth mask
0:20.0	over an N95, sometimes it's two fabric masks layered masks. Sometimes it's a cloth mask over an N95, sometimes it's two fabric masks layered together.
0:25.3	If you are already double-masked, you may be prescient because this week, Dr. Anthony Fauci said the CDC is
0:32.8	considering updating its mask guidelines to suggest wearing two masks to protect against new, more contagious
0:40.1	variants of the coronavirus. Here to share more about the thinking behind the double masking
0:45.5	guidelines and to discuss other science news of the week is Sarah Zhang, staff writer for the Atlantic.
0:51.6	Hi, Sarah. Hi, Ira. Good to talk to you again. Nice to have you back.
0:55.9	So we just got used to wearing one mask and now we can anticipate they're saying it's time to up it to two.
1:03.1	Well, I confess to having been someone who has occasionally worn a double mask myself,
1:08.1	mostly in cases where I've been indoors talking to other people, which is
1:11.5	kind of the most high-risk COVID situation, right? So, yeah, what are the benefits of two masks?
1:16.8	Well, there are a couple of different ways to think about it. One is you're obviously just getting
1:20.8	another layer of filtration in front of your face, and that, you know, just kind of keeps out any
1:24.7	particles. But maybe the bigger benefit is actually having a tighter seal or a tighter fit around your face.
1:31.4	I think this is probably especially true if you're wearing a surgical mask as a first layer,
1:35.8	which is kind of tends to be fairly loose, especially around your nose and maybe around your chin.
1:40.0	And then you might wear a slightly better fitting cloth mask over it
1:43.2	so that you just kind of don't get that air that's coming out, like, you know, around your mask and you're actually breathing through your mask. I wear glasses. So when I walk outside in the cold, it's really obvious to me when a mask is not fitting well. But what you're really trying to avoid is kind of like breathing around the mask rather than through it. Yeah, I kind of test my masks by putting my
2:01.1	fingers on it and see if I'm pressing it, if I'm breathing more through the mask than at the top
2:06.6	on the bottom, then I know it's not a good seal. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And I think if listeners have
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Science Friday and WNYC Studios, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Science Friday and WNYC Studios and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.