Imperfect Immunity

On the Media

WNYC Studios

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4.6 • 8.7K Ratings

🗓️ 27 May 2022

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As we trudge through our third year of the pandemic, what is the state of our immunity to COVID? On this week’s On the Media, hear how vaccines and reinfections interact with fast-evolving variants. Plus, why we should take the recent monkeypox outbreak seriously, but avoid panicking.1. Katherine Wu [@KatherineJWu], staff writer for The Atlantic, on building immunity three years into the pandemic. Listen.

2. David Robertson, doctoral candidate at Princeton University, on what the press got wrong when covering herd immunity. Listen.

3. Fiona Lowenstein [@fi_lowenstein], journalist and founder of Body Politic, on how to write about Long Covid. Listen.

4. Jon Cohen [@sciencecohen], writer at Science, on why we shouldn't compare the recent monkeypox outbreak to Covid. Listen.

Music: Sleep Talking by Ornette ColemanSonata for Violin and Guitar (Mauro Giuliani) by Itzhak Perlman and John WilliamsSuperstition (Stevie Wonder) by Jung SunghaI Got A Right To Sing the Blues by Billy KyleJohn’s Book of Alleged Dances by The Kronos Quartet

For transcripts, see individual segment pages.

Transcript

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0:00.0	On this week's on the media, we don't know how long antibodies from vaccination or infection
0:05.8	can protect us from COVID, but try thinking about it like this.
0:10.4	Just because I walk past a restaurant at 1am and I don't see the kitchen bustling doesn't
0:15.3	mean they've lost the capacity to make food.
0:17.5	Also, when reporting on long COVID, journalists overlook the wisdom of those living with the
0:23.5	condition.
0:24.5	Many long COVID patients have had a more intimate view of this disease for longer than pretty
0:30.2	much anyone else in the world, because we were the only people monitoring our symptoms.
0:35.1	Most of our doctors were actually too overwhelmed to be in regular touch with us.
0:39.6	Plus, why is everyone talking about monkey packs?
0:43.5	Any time a virus behaves in ways that are different and new, everyone who studies viruses
0:49.2	and gulps.
0:50.2	It's a gulp moment.
0:51.2	But I want to stress something, this is not COVID-22.
0:55.6	Let's be real.
0:56.6	It's all coming up after this.
1:00.9	From WNYC in New York, this is on the media.
1:04.0	I'm Brick Ladsdone.
1:07.1	What's that cliche?
1:08.6	You may be done with COVID, but COVID's not done with you.
1:12.7	Well here, the prevailing variant is Omicron BA.2.12.1, with BA.4 and 5 bringing up the
1:21.9	rear.
	...

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